Pedro Guzman Is Alive!

An answer to many, many prayers by many, many people.

ACLU of Southern California says [pdf] that Pedro Guzman, the 29-year-old developmentally disabled American citizen mistakenly deported to Mexico in May, has been found. Best wishes to Guzman and his family this happy occasion.

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I’ve been sitting on a post for a few days because…well, just because. Every once in a while the news becomes too unbearable to fully embrace. It is such a welcome ray of sunshine amidst the clouds that this family will be reunited. Many nights, when bouts of insomnia would grip me in a headlock, my thoughts would stray to the streets of Tijuana, imagining a mother walking and pleading for any clue as to the whereabouts of her beloved hijo.

Unfortunately, the broken/rotted/corrupt system of immigration is still in place in this country. Let the work to reform it, built on a foundation of humanity, continue con fuerza.

Más:

• Lead Council Corner
• Disability Studies: Temple University

 

Pedro Guzman Blogging and Other Musings

Here’s where things stand so far in blogtopia (y!sctp) with respect to coverage of Pedro Guzman‘s forced exile and subsequent disappearance:

The Mex Files, Disability Studies – Temple U., UnSpace, Dallas-Fort Worth Immigration Lawyer, And We Shall March, Intersections, BadCopNews, Courage Campaign, TBogg, Rook’s Rant, Guanabee, Left End of the Dial, kid oakland, The Liberal OC, Calitics, Daily Kos, The Latin Americanist, Tejas Cubbie, Why Now?, Beautiful Horizons, Crime Scene KC, Outside the Beltway, The Gimp Parade, Fetch me my axe, States Without Nations, The Bullwinkle Blog, Hullabaloo, scootmandubious, serpentine smile, The Latino Body, nazarian, onefivetwo, cannablog, PREGUNTAVER, All Spin Zone, QuizLaw, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Fair Immigration Reform Movement, Pandagon, The Feminist Blog Network, I Am The Lizard Queen, Vox ex Machina, BlueBloggin

Lots of search engine hits over the weekend here, did this topic make its way to the corporate media while I was out fishing? If so, good, but as mariachi mama said in the comments here the other day, this type of blatant viciousness by ICE and other tentacles of the Department of Homeland Security happens everyday.

“Probable cause” for vehicle searches, requests for verification of citizenship at a workplace or even standard government services boil down to the same thing: skin color.

Again, not something that can be proven with charts and poll numbers. It is something that is experienced everyday by those with tierra-colored skin. I know because I am one of them.

There was a time when I thought that I had a persecution complex. But you can only ignore the sideways glances, the extra attention at checkpoints, the request for additional pieces of identification, the “where are you from” question so much before you just accept that this is the reality you must live.

This ‘probable cause’ is why vigilante groups like the Minutemen are racist, despite the howls of indignation you get from some of their members. When a group is committed to ferreting out “illegals”, it begs the question: How are they identifying them?

The answer to that is why you will find uncompromised deference towards the immigrant community at this blog. They are me, regardless of status. The key to brightening the future, however, is when the larger progressive community says ‘They are we too’. A humble blog like this can only do so much to raise the alarm that human rights abuses are occurring on a constant basis.

 

Where is Pedro Guzman?

Hopefully alive, somewhere in the vicinity of Tijuana, Baja California. He is the latest victim of Operation Wetback v2.007

The family of a mentally disabled man claims that the federal and local governments mistakenly had an American citizen deported and said U.S. officials should help find him in Mexico.

Relatives of Pedro Guzman, 29, are suing the Department of Homeland Security and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in Los Angeles federal court.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit this week over what the civil rights group contends was the wrongful deportation of a developmentally disabled man.

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Of course, ICE is spinning their actions faster than the wheels of my nana’s shopping cart at CostCo.

“ICE only processes persons for removal when all available credible evidence suggests the person is an alien,” ICE officials said. “That process was followed here and ICE has no reason to believe that it improperly removed Pedro Guzman.”

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This is a chilling story, on top of all the rest of the ICE-covered atrocities committed everyday (how’s that for a pun?) It’s hitting hard personally, because if one were to alter the age of Pedro by a few years and change half of his name, it would be me. While his disability probably factored heavily in this particular situation, Latin@s are being deported physically and verbally everyday.

So now’s your chance, progressive blogosphere.

This issue could use some bigger coverage beyond the Latino blog borders. Steven D at Booman Tribune has already stepped up to the plate (in fact, he alerted me to it). Will you be the next one to stand in solidarity?

(Hopefully) To be updated:

The Mex Files, Disability Studies – Temple U., UnSpace, Dallas-Fort Worth Immigration Lawyer, And We Shall March, Intersections, BadCopNews, Courage Campaign, TBogg, Rook’s Rant, Guanabee, Left End of the Dial, kid oakland, The Liberal OC, Calitics, Daily Kos, The Latin Americanist, Tejas Cubbie, Why Now?, Beautiful Horizons, Crime Scene KC, Outside the Beltway, The Gimp Parade, Fetch me my axe, States Without Nations, The Bullwinkle Blog, Hullabaloo, scootmandubious, serpentine smile, The Latino Body, nazarian, onefivetwo, cannablog, PREGUNTAVERAll Spin Zone