An undocumented immigrant living in Cleveland was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement but is receiving a second chance because of possible comprehensive immigration reform.
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Ricardo Ramos is a husband and father of three U.S. citizens born in America. He was pulled over by police during a regular traffic stop where police realized Ramos was in the country illegally for 16 years. Fearing that his family would be split up, he got himself a lawyer and decided to fight back rather than be deported. His lawyer prevailed upon ICE officials to grant Ramos’ request to stay in the country for just a while longer. Ramos’s lawyer, David Leopold said, “We’ve never been this close to immigration reform…What we’re asking is a chance for him to stay one year while Congress acts.”
This is a novel request, but with Congress ready to soon release a new piece of immigration legislation Ramos may be close to becoming documented according to this process. The decision to allow Ramos to stay in the country just in time for his 12-year-old daughter’s birthday makes him grateful for the American system. Ramos’s reaction to hearing his reprieve is “I say happy only.”
Legal scholars wonder if undocumented immigrants in other states will not be deported if they have the ability to ask the courts to let them wait to see what the new immigration laws will read. At this time the decision lies in the hands of the judge hearing the case as well as how quickly Congress votes on the new bill.
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