Gov. Bill Richardson is asking President Bush to allow a Mexican woman in the United States
illegally to stay because her 7-year-old son is an American citizen.
The situation is a perfect example of the complexities of the immigration debate.
Richardson, according to the Associated Press, sent a letter to Bush urging him to consider allowing Elvira Arellano to stay because of her son. The boy successfully lobbied Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies earlier this week to approve a resolution calling for the United States to suspend the deportation of his mother and other illegal immigrant parents of U.S. citizens.
The family has been staying at a Chicago church since August in an attempt to prevent deportation, the news service reported.
“The Arellano case puts a spotlight on the danger of not acting on a comprehensive immigration plan,” Richardson’s letter states. “Inaction puts our most vulnerable citizens – the estimated three million American citizen children of illegal immigrants – at risk.”
Richardson reminded Bush, according to the news service, that the two have similar views on immigration, stating that “you and I have both advocated for sensible, fair changes to our immigration laws; updates that include tougher border security and shutting off the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs, as well as a realistic path to legalization for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already here.”
Richardson said deporting Arellano would create a “terrible choice” for the family – the boy could either leave his mother to stay in the United States, or “forfeit his right to grow up an American.”
Jon Goldstein, a spokesman for Richardson, told the news service that the governor was not asked to write to Bush, but learned of the case through news reports and believes the situation is a “perfect example” of why the nation needs immigration reform.
Gov. Bill Richardson is asking President Bush to allow a Mexican woman in the