Prominent Immigration Activists Self-Deport To Protest 1.7 Million Deported By The Obama Administration. Bring Them Home

Leaders of the undocumented youth movement in the United States have crossed the border into Mexico, and plan to turn themselves in alongside other undocumented youth who left or were deported from the United States at a border crossing next week. With applications for legal admission in hand, they will demand to be allowed to return home to the United States.

“You May Think I Am Crazy, But I Think It Is Crazier That I Haven’t Seen My Family for 15 Years”

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The Obama Administration has created a deportation machine resulting in the destruction of over 1.7 million lives, and the devastating separation of those families by the border. Those 1.7 million people are not lost and forgotten; rather, they are people who deserve to have the choice to return to their home in this country.

Leaders currently in Mexico include Lizbeth Mateo of Los Angeles, CA, Marco Saavedra of New York, and Lulu Martinez of Chicago, IL. Both have been living in the United States since before the age of 16, making them eligible for the DREAM Act and deferred action for childhood arrivals.

"Last year they went after my uncle and he was deported, said Mateo. "What our family went through is what millions have gone through and it needs to stop. This administration needs to know we won't wait for congress to do the right thing."

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The Obama administration reached historic highs in removals during the president's first four years in office. While the number of removals is reportedly dwindling this year, a lot of people are still being deported. Challenging these policies is part of the reason, Lizbeth Mateo, Marco Saavedra and Lulu Martinez made the trip to Mexico. They realize they may not gain re-entry into the U.S.

NIYA activists have gone to great lengths to oppose detention and deportation. They have infiltrated detention centers and participated in acts of civil disobedience in order to challenge the President's immigration policy. They have promised to build a movement on the other side of the border, and plan to bring deported immigrant youth back home to the United States.

The fight to keep families together does not end after deportation. The President has 1.7 million broken promises to deal with. He's going to deal with them now.