U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said late Friday that they would not pursue the deportation of Eric Balderas. The 19-year-old was detained June 7 after he tried to use a university ID card to board a plane from San Antonio to Boston.ICE spokesman Brian P. Hale told The Boston Globe that Balderas had been granted deferred action, which can be used to halt deportation based on the merits of a case. ...
[Balderas is] studying molecular and cellular biology at Harvard and hopes to become a cancer researcher. He said he qualified for Harvard's privately-funded scholarship package.Harvard officials immediately threw support behind Balderas after his detainment.
"Eric Balderas has already demonstrated the discipline and work ethic required for rigorous university work, and has, like so many of our undergraduates, expressed an interest in making a difference in the world," said Christine Heenan, Harvard's vice president of public affairs and communications.
Ohhhh, I see. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." should come with a new disclaimer: smart kids proceed directly to the front of the line.
If this student has "already demonstrated the discipline and work ethic" Harvard requires, then I see no reason why the university wouldn't allow him to return under a student visa which he can apply for after he's been deported for breaking the law.
Why has it become so difficult to enforce the law?
For good measure, the AP also throws in this little nugget of political agenda-pushing info:
The case also sparked a buzz on social media sites and among student immigrant activists who see the Balderas situation as the ideal test case to push the proposed DREAM act — a federal bill that would allow illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship via college enrollment or military service.