Deportation Threatened Against DREAMer Held in Florida

From Change.org:

HUNDREDS JOIN SISTER’S CAMPAIGN FOR RELEASE OF STUDENT THREATENED WITH DEPORTATION
Fast-growing campaign on Change.org calls on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release DREAM Act-eligible student whose health is worsening daily.

MIAMI, FL – Hundreds of people have joined a fast-growing campaign on Change.org calling for the immediate release of DREAM-act eligible student Balal Parveez, whose eight siblings and wife are all U.S. citizens.

Nosheen Dean, Parveez’s sister, launched the campaign on Change.org with Students Working for Equal Rights after Balal Parveez’s detention neared eight months. Parveez recently underwent chest surgery while in detention, and his supporters fear his health is deteriorating every day he remains behind bars.

"It's hard to fight this battle when we are not even sure why he is still detained at this point, given all of the circumstances,” said Nosheen Dean, who has been traveling to Florida to visit her brother in detention. “Still, I'm going to do everything possible to make sure that Balal is released. I can't stand to see him with his eyes bulging out with dark shadows beneath them, like he hasn't slept or eaten in days. Whatever it takes, even if it's me writing hundreds of letters to ICE and standing outside in the cold, I will do it."

Parveez, who grew up in Long Island, New York, and served as captain of his high school football team, remains undocumented due to an unforeseen glitch in his asylum case, while his eight siblings and wife are all U.S. citizens. His family fears for Parveez’s life if he is deported to his country of birth, Pakistan, where his family experienced severe political persecution and violence.

According to recently-released Department of Homeland Security guidelines, DREAM-eligible immigrants should no longer be a priority for deportation. Parveez is DREAM Act-eligible, which has prompted Students Working from Immigrant Rights, a youth-led immigrant rights organization in Florida, to take up his case.

"Balal's sister and I went to visit him recently at the Broward detention facility,” says Juan Rodriguez, Youth Organizer with Students Working for Equal Rights. “His sister is stricken by how much weight he has lost. We know he's not sleeping well, his health is deteriorating, and he tells us that each day closer to December is a reminder of 1 year separated from his wife and his freedom."

News of the online petition campaign’s success is likely to increase pressure on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release Parveez. Within hours of the campaign’s launch, Nosheen Dean had recruited hundreds of supporters on Change.org, the world’s fastest growing platform for social change.

“What Nosheen Dean has accomplished under such stressful circumstances is remarkable,” said Change.org Director of Organizing Jackie Mahendra. “With no budget and armed with only a fierce determination to reunite her family, Nosheen has managed to bring attention to her brother’s plight and enlist the support of hundreds of people across the country. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and it has been incredible to watch this family’s campaign take off.”

Students Working for Equal Rights plans to hold a community rally in front of Broward Transitional Center in Florida, where Balal Parveez is currently held, on Tuesday, November 8, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Journalists interested in setting up an interview should contact Juan Rodriguez, whose contact details are at the top of this release.

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