WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL (Online)
By Bertrand M. Gutierrez
Published: July 02, 2012; Updated: July 02, 2012 - 4:11 PM
The possibility of deportation to Mexico was on Uriel Alberto's mind Monday morning.
Alberto, the Winston-Salem immigrant activist who in February took part in a protest that disrupted a state House meeting on immigration issues, headed to a Wake County District Court in Raleigh for a hearing about misdemeanor charges related to that protest: disorderly conduct and violating building rules.
Alberto said that he entered an Alford plea, acknowledging that there is enough evidence to convict him but not admitting guilt. Alberto's attorney immediately appealed the verdict, and the case will go to Superior Court within weeks or months.
Immigration experts say that Alberto's legal problems represent a test case of President Barack Obama's announcement last month that he would stop deporting certain young immigrants. Among the list of eligibility requirements, immigrants with substantial convictions may not qualify for deferred action _ a two-year reprieve on the prosecution of their deportation case.
On Feb. 29, the grass-roots immigrant advocacy group N.C. Dream Team, assisted by El Cambio, a separate advocacy group in Yadkin County and Winston-Salem area, tried to raise awareness about the effect of U.S. immigration laws on young unauthorized immigrants by protesting a meeting that day of the Select Committee on the State's Role in Immigration Policy. The committee was set up to consider what immigration laws the state legislature could pass.
Alberto, a member of El Cambio, and two other protesters - Estephania Mijangos-Lopez of Sanford and Cynthia Martinez of Broadway - halted the meeting. Wearing orange T-shirts, they stood up, one after another. When it was Alberto's turn, he said, "I am undocumented, unafraid and unashamed. I refuse to be bullied and intimidated by this committee and choose to empower my community!"
Within minutes, guards escorted them away.
Deferred action
The charges from that event probably would not be enough to prevent Alberto from qualifying for deferred action under the new deportation policy announced by Obama on June 15. But Alberto's past convictions and Monday's pleading _ one that arises out of his pursuit of an immigration policy that Obama favors _ puts him the gray area of those who may or may not qualify for deferred action.
Under Obama's policy, deferred action could be granted on a case-by-case basis to individuals who meet the following criteria: if they came to the United States when they were younger than 16, if they have continuously resided in the United States for at least five years before Obama's announcement, and if they were present in the U.S. that day as well, according to the DHS.
Also, individuals may qualify if they are in school, have graduated from high school, have obtained a GED or are honorably discharged veterans of the armed forces, according to the DHS.
Under the new deportation policy, qualifying immigrants could get a worker's permit but they cannot seek citizenship or legal residency status. Deferred action just delays a deportation case by two years.
Obama's announcement June 15 was met with criticism from those who say that such a policy will spark more illegal immigration and provides backdoor amnesty to the sons and daughters of those who knowingly broke immigration laws. Supporters say that young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children by their parents should not be punished.
Growing up
Alberto passes most of the qualifications for deferred action. He was 7 when he left Mexico in 1994 with his 6-year-old sister, Cristina. By 1996, the family was in Winston-Salem. Alberto, who speaks English and Spanish fluently, attended Wiley Middle School and went on to graduate from Parkland High School in 2005 as a track-and-field standout.
After he graduated, Alberto went to Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, but he spent just three semesters there because he didn't have enough money to continue, he said. Meanwhile, state colleges were out of the question, he said, because he could not afford the requirement that unauthorized immigrants must pay out-of-state tuition.
"It's been six years of my life at a standstill," Alberto said during his first rally as a member of El Cambio, standing on the campus of Forsyth Technical Community College in October.
In North Carolina, about 51,000 immigrants such as Alberto would probably qualify for the DREAM Act, proposed federal legislation that would give certain young immigrants a path to legal residency status. Discussion of the bill was killed in the Senate in December 2010 after the House had passed it.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, the state General Assembly has passed laws to stem the influx of illegal immigration.
Immigrants such as Alberto are not eligible for public financial aid. They pay tuition costs that are about four times more than those paid by in-state students.
At Forsyth Tech, for example, an associate degree can cost more than $4,300 over two years - unless the student must pay the out-of-state rate. Then it costs about $16,800, according credit-hour and tuition information on the school's website.
In addition, Alberto is not allowed to get a driver's license in North Carolina.
Such laws _ and the effort by the House Select Committee on the State's Role in Immigration Policy to consider a new spate of tougher laws similar to those passed in Arizona _ compelled Alberto's protest the House committee in February.
Offending past
Alberto's effort to get deferred action may run into resistance because of his past convictions.
Applicants may qualify if they have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor offense or multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety, according to the DHS.
Alberto has several traffic violations, including a 2008 conviction for a DWI. He said he registered a 0.04 percent blood alcohol content (the state limit is 0.08 percent) when he was younger than 21. Other minor traffic violations in Forsyth County have been resolved, according to one of his attorneys. Alberto was also brought up on domestic-violence charges several years ago, but they were dismissed.
It isn't clear whether Monday's plea, coupled with Alberto's past convictions, would automatically disqualify Alberto from getting deferred action because the Obama administration has not clearly defined what a "serious misdemeanor" or "multiple misdemeanor offenses" may mean.
"An Alford plea is considered a conviction for immigration purposes, as it is for all other purposes -- points on your record, etc. Unfortunately, the 'three non-significant misdemeanors' provision is very broad and can cover a lot of otherwise petty offenses," said Alberto's immigration attorney Helen Parsonage, a partner at Elliott Pishko Morgan PA in Winston-Salem.
The Legal Action Center, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, also said that the terms "serious misdemeanor" and "multiple misdemeanor offenses" could encompass a wide range of conduct, including offenses that would not affect a person's immigration status under current immigration law.
"However, it is unclear how decision makers ultimately will determine whether a misdemeanor disqualifies a person for deferred action. It is also unclear whether the circumstances of an offense, how long ago it occurred, or other considerations will have any impact on this analysis," the Legal Action Center said in an advisory memo to immigration attorneys.
Doug Stump, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that officials at the Department of Homeland Security are in the process of providing clarity to those terms.
"The applicant's attorney must carefully examine the underlying basis for each violation, even if it appears to be an insignificant event," he said.
Alberto's immigration case is due for a hearing in mid-September.
The House immigration committee is scheduled to meet twice before December and is expected to submit a report with recommendations on comprehensive immigration legislation that also takes into consideration the concerns of the business community, according to Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, a co-chairman of the House Select Committee.
Alberto said he has no regrets about protesting at the committee meeting.
"It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees," he said.
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