Letter From Immigration Jail

Bernard Pastor

Originally posted on the AILA Leadership Blog

This is a difficult moment for the DREAMers.  The Senate has failed them, and the nation.  Make no mistake, the DREAM Act will become law one day.  And, so too, will there be a humane and sensible immigration policy.  What we need are national leaders who care more about America than their political careers.

I have had the honor of representing Bernard Pastor, an 18 year old DREAMer from Reading, Ohio who was locked up by ICE for a month and released on Friday, December 17, hours before the Senate rejected the Dream Act.  Describing the disarray left in the wake of the Senate vote yesterday, the New York Times’ Julia Preston juxtaposed Bernard’s last minute release against ICE’s ongoing policy of mass deportations.

The administration’s efforts to manage its policy dilemma played out this week. Speaking on Friday before the vote, John Morton, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency would continue the brisk pace of deportations, focusing on immigrants convicted of crimes. On the same day, the agency released from detention an 18-year-old Guatemalan student from Ohio, Bernard Pastor, granting him a one-year reprieve from deportation to continue his education. 

Can you imagine where Bernard would be right now if he hadn’t been freed on Friday?

Yet, in the midst of our disappointment with the lack of a coherent, sensible immigration policy, coupled with the pain suffered by the thousands of DREAMers whose hopes were dashed yesterday, we can take solace in the words of Bernard Pastor, who, in a letter reminiscent of Dr. Martin Luther King’s heroic Letter From Birmingham Jail, wrote the following while incarcerated by ICE and awaiting his imminent removal to Guatemala, a country he does not know:

I am not defined by where I was born; I am defined by where and with whom I was raised.  I am defined by how I live my life. 

People might be surprised that the son of a pastor is in the situation in which I now find myself, but I think that it takes just such a person to make a necessary difference, to make things change. Perhaps it seems to you that I am caught in a bad situation, but the Bible tells me this: 

“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider."  Ecclesiastes 7:14 

In my own words: a day of sorrow is better than a day of joy because through pain the heart is mended; it is through my difficulties that I learn. I have always known that each of us is here to be a history maker. This is true regardless of one’s station in life. All I can hope is that I serve as an example for others to understand the great injustices carved into the fabric of our broken immigration system. I pray that my example helps pass the DREAM Act because it is the DREAM Act that will help others who find themselves in my shoes.

I feel that this is the purpose that God has for me, and I will never fight his will.  And I want to be able to be the one who steps up, the one who can be the voice for those other thousands of DREAMers who cannot speak out for themselves.

Sometimes, one needs difficult times to reestablish one’s faith, even the faith that one might believe they already had.  In the words of Jon Foreman – a committed evangelical Christian and the lead singer of Switchfoot – “Two things You have told me: You are strong and You love me… So why should I worry?  You know what I need.” I know that this is all God’s plan and all the glory is his alone.  I thank God for letting me be His conduit, the vessel through which he may be exalted. 

I thank all of you who are working to help both me, and others like me; you know the Truth behind my situation.  I leave you now with a quote from the Christian musician, Brandon Heath: 

“There is hope for me yet because God won’t forget all the plans he’s made for me.  He’s not finished with me yet.” 

God bless you all, 

Bernard

FREE BERNARD!

Please watch this compelling, short film on the struggle that faces the Reading, OH community: FREE BERNARD PASTOR!

Bernard Pastor

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The National Immigration Law Center's DREAM WEEKLY UPDATE ________________ December 15, 2010

Daily DREAMer Lost in the barrage of media coverage about the DREAM Act are the hopes, dreams, and stories of individual DREAMers. This week we’re bringing you the real life stories of young Americans-at-heart who will have their fates decided for them by the Senate before Christmas. Bernard Pastor, a DREAMer in Ohio who was brought to the States when he was three, currently is in immigration detention and facing deportation.  Bernard graduated near the top of his high school class and was a standout athlete, the soccer team’s star.  He dreams of attending college and someday being a pastor.  His former classmates and others he’s touched in his community are in shock at his having been detained and are rallying to support him. Part of Bernard’s story is told in this very moving 5-minute video posted on Vimeo.  And, in a 3-minute YouTube video, you can hear Bernard’s sister reading a letter he wrote from immigration detention. After watching the videos, please call Ohio Senator George Voinovich at 866-957-2612 and urge him to realize the DREAM for Bernard and other Buckeye DREAMers such as him. After you’ve called Senator Voinovich, dial 866-957-2612 to tell the senators from your own state that you expect them to support the DREAM Act as well. Together, we can make these DREAMs a reality!

To subscribe to our DREAM Act, Health Care, Immigration Enforcement, Public Benefits, or Workers' Rights lists, complete and submit this form. National Immigration Law Center 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2850, Los Angeles, CA 90010 | www.nilc.org

The DREAM Will Not Die.

This weekend I was among several organizers from Ohio and Michigan to present our progress and look to the future for the DREAM Act in Ohio. As a workshop presenter at the Great Lakes Colleges Association's annual Students of Color Leadership Conference, several things struck me as I spoke with the group of 50 students at Kenyon College.

The DREAM Act will pass because we will make it happen.

It's no surprise that the DREAM Activists have been criticized for their often irreverent organizing tactics. As a youth-led movement, they are overlooked or not taken seriously by the more established, albeit well-intentioned organizations and members of the immigrants' rights movement. However, the DREAM Activist approach is also one which carries a certain clarity, passion, and determination not present in other approaches to immigrants' rights.

The story of the DREAM Act movement is so compelling in part because it has not been static.

Unlike other recent movements, the DREAM Act movement has grown and thrived because of its commitment to diversity. To be clear, this is not a movement based solely on racial and ethnic diversity. The DREAM Act movement has sought out and leveraged many social justice intersections. It has always welcomed allies, and most importantly DREAM Activists understand the need to reach back and train, grow, and develop younger members of the movement. There is certainly recognition that in order for the movement to sustain itself, leadership must always adapt.

Ohio will play a key role in the story because of the Speaker-elect of the US House, John Boehner.

Speaking with Ohio DREAM Activists who have come from other states, their first discontent is that Ohio has been largely uncharted territory for organized DREAMers. Many come from places like Chicago or California, where a DREAM network has been in place for years. Just as Ohio is a key bellwether in Presidential elections, Ohio will be a focal point for the DREAM Act as well. Many in the immigrants' rights community have wondered how Mr. Boehner will handle the topic of immigration in the House. Although he voted against the Sensenbrenner Bill, he has been far from moderate on the issue. His district is also home to Sheriff Richard Jones.

We will continue organizing, always challenging the systems of oppression. We'll need your help to do it.

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