Once facing deportation, grad off to college
KATHLEEN McGRORY
MiamiHerald.com
Aug 22, 2008
One year ago, Juan Gomez, the Killian High School grad who was saved from deportation, traveled to the nation's capital to advocate for undocumented students.
Gomez headed for Washington again Thursday, but for a different reason: Next week he starts at Georgetown University.
And if being accepted to one of the nation's top colleges wasn't enough, Gomez also won a competitive partial scholarship for international students.
''It's been really exciting,'' Gomez said Wednesday night as he got ready to leave Miami.
Juan, 19, his brother Alex, 20, and their parents were arrested by immigration agents last July. Their parents had overstayed their visas for more than a decade, and the family was going to be deported to Colombia.
The brothers were toddlers when they arrived in the United States.
But when the family was put into immigration detention, the young men's friends launched a grass-roots campaign to save Juan and Alex.
Later, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart joined in the effort, introducing a private bill to keep the brothers in the country.
Immigration officials granted the young men a stay of deportation while Congress considers the bill. But their parents and grandmother were deported to Colombia in late October.
The young men became local celebrities -- and the faces of undocumented students nationwide.
They traveled to Washington with their friends to advocate for the DREAM Act, legislation that would give undocumented students like themselves a chance to remain in the country.
For now, the brothers are allowed to stay in the country until March. But Juan Gomez said he hasn't given up hope of staying longer.
''I wouldn't have applied [to Georgetown] if I really thought I'd be leaving in a year,'' he said Wednesday. ``I feel like my best chances of staying in this country are going to a prestigious institution like Georgetown.''
Gomez, who finished his freshman year at Miami Dade's Honors College, said he can't wait to arrive in Washington.
''Honestly, I'm not nervous at all,'' he said. ``I have only excitement about it.''
While he plans to study finance and business, Gomez said he'll continue to fight for undocumented students and the DREAM Act
