Please sign my petition

[Christa]

http://www.gopetition.com/online/15886.html

Last week my son received a letter stating that he does not have the moral character to become a citizen. He will be deported back to South Africa because he unknowingly voted in a local election illegally. We have until January 7, 2008 to appeal.

My family has been in this country for 10 years. My husband and I are citizens.

When my son turned 18, he signed up for Selective service, as the law requires.

Shortly thereafter, he ran across a group of campaigners registering students to vote in the upcoming elections. They promised him that since he was registered for Selective Service, he was eligible to vote. This was not true.

At our family's citizenship interviews, our son's application was rejected after he volunteered the information that he had voted in an election. That he freely volunteered the information shows that he had no intention to defraud the government or anyone. Our many letters to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services have met with no reply. We have met with our local congressman with no result.

Part of the reasoning behind the 26th amendment of the U.S. Constitution in 1970 was that citizens who could be drafted to fight in a die for the U.S. should be able to determine its direction by voting. Can't this logic be extrapolated to include forgiveness for unintentional transgressions that hurt no one?

We will present this petition to our senator and the INS. If you feel in your heart that you can support us, please sign this petition.

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. Too bad his name isn't Ann Coulter

Then he'd have no problem defeating an illegal voter issue. I'll sign your petition, sounds like a good cause.

[gateley]

2. I was happy to be #53 - the year I was born -- I'll take that to be a positive sign!

Good luck! :hug:

[balantz]

3. Glad to help!

Good luck!

[babylonsister]

4. Done with pleasure, Christa-good luck to you and your family. nt

[acmavm]

5. Done.

[Christa]

6. Thank you all

here as well:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2518005&mesg_id=2518005

I am crying so much, I can hardly see the screen

:cry:

[tularetom]

7. Signed - keep up the good fight

[bonito]

8. #80 n/t

[Christa]

9. Thanks so far, everyone

please help to spread the word?

[EFerrari]

10. K&R

I'm sorry your family is going through this, Christa.

Please keep us updated.

[dembotoz]

11. 111

good luck

[Pastiche423]

12. Signed and Recommend

[DemKR]

13. K&R, signed

[WritersBlock]

14. Signed.

Having been an immigrant myself, I can empathize. My thoughts are with you and your son.

[karlrschneider]

15. I'll sign it but internet petitions are a huge waste of time for everyone concerned.

Reading tea leaves will get you the same results.

[Christa]

19. I really don't need any negativity now

My heart is breaking - you don't have to sign or help at all. But please don't destroy the little bit of hope that I have.

[karlrschneider]

26. I can send you a hundred bucks...would that help?

[e-mail]

just ask

[Christa]

27. Someone is going to set up a fund for us

here:

http://www.thejesusmyth.com/to-be-deported-for-voting.htm

I am so embarrassed but every penny will help. Nothing ever came easy for us, we had to fight so many battles and most of the time we lost the battle as well as the fight.

The past ten years have been hard - and now this.

[Breeze54]

22. Not true at all.

Petitions work!!

[karlrschneider]

25. Yeah, you're right...that pesky Iraq "war" got shut right down thanks to a petition.

What was I thinking?

[Breeze54]

28. I said "NOT ALWAYS" !!!!!!!!!!

Gheesh!!

But there have been a lot of things, like the FCC rules in 2003 for example, that were SHUT DOWN!

[AnOhioan]

16. Signed..best of luck Christa

[hwmnbn]

17. Done and good luck!....nt

[FlyingSquirrel]

18. Signed, K&R'd

Good Luck.

FS

[WillyT]

20. Done Deal !!! - K & R !!!

:kick:

[Dawggie]

21. Signed, Kicked and Recommended.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Done

Please keep us informed. This is just outrageous.

[Breeze54]

24. Hugs to you and your family, Christa!

:hug:

Signed and :kick: & Recommended!

--------------

You have just signed the petition Help-a-mother: keep a family together.
Your signature has been successfully recorded.

[Christa]

29. Someone created a fund for us

For legal fees.

We have retained an immigration lawyer at $200 per hour.

http://www.ssmplaw.com/att_lMeltz.shtml

Practice Areas: Labor and Employment Law (Maritime and Airline Labor Law); Immigration and Naturalization Law; Commercial Litigation, Grievances, Mediation and Arbitration; Corporate, Insurance and Administrative Law; Contract Negotiation and Interpretation; Representation Disputes Before the National Mediation Board; Utility and Trade Association Law.

Mr Meltz regards this matter as extremely serious and urgent. He will analyze the situation and present us with options.

We have our first phone conference scheduled for Wednesday,Dec 26.

Fund address:

http://www.thejesusmyth.com/altruism-monthly-number-2-lucis-legal-fund.htm

[bonito]

30. Might be good if we write some letters to our congressmen

Wherever we are, Dem or Rep, I will, it defiantly has pull, I know by experience!

[burrowowl]

31. K&R!

[Raejeanowl]

32. This Doesn't Make Any Sense

Something is not right here. Please back up for me.

How do you unknowingly vote in a local election illegally? Are you saying that his voter registration was accepted and he was allowed to vote despite the fact he is not a citizen? Or that he knowingly misrepresented his citizenship status on the voter registration form and thereby committed an act of perjury-which is the real problem behind why he is facing deportation? It's really difficult to plead no intention to defraud after that, regardless of what he freely admits.

And yet, your son was savvy enough to know, or you and your husband taught him, that he was required to register for the draft? Did he know or did you impart to him when and how Mom and Dad became eligible to vote?

The 26th Amendment does not extrapolate to your son's situation. Voting rights were extended to legal citizens between 18 and 21.

You need an attorney to help with the appeal, not a petition.

[Christa]

34. Oh please, get your facts straight here

He was registered at school for selective service, we had no idea that he had to register or that it was law.

Keep in mind that immigrants don't KNOW anything; we did not even know what we did not know.

The voter registration group at college told him that his Selective Service registration made him eligible for voting.

We feel the group who registered him were the CITIZENS who were supposed to know the American laws. They signed him up even though he told them he was not a citizen.

Why should he pay the price now?

[Raejeanowl]

35. I Don't Have A Problem With MY Facts

What I have is a problem with YOURS, or what you're presenting as fact. Especially since, as I read back on this, you are also asking for donations. I apologize to my fellow DUers for coming across like a prosecutor, but I'm asking you, Christa, to please at least make sense.

You said you and your husband have been here for 10 years and are citizens, did you not? Don't you still have to take a simple citizenship test to do that? Haven't you acquainted yourself in all that time with the most rudimentary requirements of U.S. law, like the one your growing son would face at age 18? It goes without saying you are aware we have a military?

Do you and your husband vote? When did you start voting? How did you register? You were aware from a very early juncture that you could start when you became a citizen, weren't you? If you were aware, how could your son NOT have been aware of this?

I'll leave the Selective Service thing alone, although it's hard to believe, and tough to understand whether you're talking about two school events or one; it just clouds the main issue without being probative.

But regarding the voting, "telling" your son he was eligible to vote based upon Selective Service registration (for whatever unfathomable reason the volunteers, who-at least in my locality-don't go out and do this casually, without training on these very topics, allegedly told him this) did not get him registered to vote.

Repeat: A purely verbal exchange didn't get him registered. There is a question or an affirmation on the registration form pertaining to swearing that you are a U.S. citizen. Even if they filled out most of the form for him, they would have asked him the questions. But then, you do have to sign the form yourself-are you claiming that they forged it and signed it for him,too? Lying on the form is perjury, which has legal penalties. And then you say your son voted. You need to be registered in order to vote, so of course a duly recorded registration did take place.

You may or may not have a cause here, Christa, but very little of what you're saying holds together factually or logically for me. Whatever you do, I think you need to abandon the "mean, incompetent native-born Americans railroaded my innocent immigrant son for no good reason" defense and just admit that the kid screwed up big-time. It goes a lot further in our system. Peace.

[Christa]

39. Ok, here are the facts

We became citizens LAST year only.

In the US one has to wait 5 years for a greencard, and then 5 more years to become a citizen.

This happened after we got our greencards, long before we studied for the citizenship test.

We have not voted yet, as there was no election since we became citizens. As it stand now, we have not even registered to vote yet.

Don't you there is some shared responsibility here? If I read you correctly, the immigrants are mean, nasty liars and the citizens are good and honest people.

Well, look no further than the White House.

Don't be mean and sarcastic to me please. Many native born Americans do not even know about the selective service, and you expect it to be common knowledge for me? If any federal employee tells me something, I will believe it; just because I have no other frame of reference.

I have received NUMEROUS emails from Americans telling me how unscrupulous the campaigners registering students are, just to make their quota.

Two parties were supposed to check that all those registered are indeed citizens: the party who registered him, as well as the NJ authorities. None of them even cared to do it.

The fact that he told the truth when asked whether he voted, showed he believed it was lawful and that he had no malicious intent.

Life is not black and white as you see it, but many shades inbetween.

Any more sarcastic remarks and questions?

[Mark_Pogue]

41. System?

The same system that tried OJ? The system works best for the rich, law-abiding or not.

[Christa]

44. Thanks Mark

The same system that got GWB elected twice.

I am impressed.

[EFerrari]

47. Or, you may need to abandon the idea that paid voter reg workers

aren't above misrepresenting the law and especially at colleges where they are sure to snag students who don't know it themselves.

College campuses are a favorite stalking ground for these people.

[Christa]

40. I have retained an attorney.

Can't you see how broken the system is? Can't you see that my son was misled?

I hope for your sake you, your family, your children and friends NEVER ever was misled or misunderstood anything, as you seem to be cruel and unforgiving.

You must be perfect, to be so judgmental.

Do yourself a favor and look at the remarks of those who signed. See how disgusted the Americans are with the governement, with the system, with the injustices.

Familiarize yourself with people who have compassion and understanding.

More than 400 have signed and understood, don't blame me when you are slow.

[Liberal In Texas]

33. Done.

I wish you and your son luck.

[Lochloosa]

36. Done. And good luck

[tekisui]

37. Signed. Best of Luck.

[blogslut]

38. done

n/t

[Mark_Pogue]

42. .

.

[onecent]

43. Done.

[Christa]

45. Reply from Dennis Kucinich via his blackberry

Early this morning:

I will look into this immediately.

I also wrote to Lou Dobbs and all the local newspapers.

[bonito]

46. Good news I hope

Don't ever give up!

[EFerrari]

48. Don't get involved with Dobbs, Christa. He trafficks in hatred. n/t

[Ladyhawk]

49. Kicking this...

:kick:

[Ladyhawk]

50. Kicking Again...

:kick: