Buzzfeed
By Adrian Carrasquillo
April 7, 2016
Dan-el
Padilla Peralta’s life story is one of hardship and scholarly
excellence, as the Dominican-born undocumented young man went from a
homeless shelter to Princeton, Oxford, and Columbia.
He turned the tale into a memoir, but part of that story — and the
focus of a new Spanish-language ad — involves Hillary Clinton and her
efforts to get him a visa to return to the United States after studying
abroad.
The
new ad entitled “Life Requires Risks,” which will run in the New York
City media market beginning Thursday, features narration from Peralta,
who entered the country on a tourist visa
when he was 4 years old. “Hillary Clinton fought for an undocumented
Dominican kid and helped me get a visa to return,” he says.
In
an interview with BuzzFeed News as he left the library at Columbia
University, where he is finishing a post-doctorate degree before
returning to Princeton University to become an assistant
professor, Peralta said that Clinton interceded on his behalf on three
separate occasions.
When
her initial letter to help him regularize his status fell on deaf ears,
Peralta took a big risk, leaving the country for the chance to study at
Oxford.
Clinton
then sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy in London and followed up again
months later. Peralta credits that final effort with allowing him to
reenter the country.
As
the campaign has turned to the suddenly important and delegate-rich New
York primary, Clinton has made an effort to remind voters of her time
as senator. These reminders began aimed at
upstate residents — Clinton famously went on a listening tour of 62
counties as she transitioned from First Lady to a senator.
Now reminding New Yorkers of her work on immigration is part of that effort, too.
When
Clinton ran in 2008, she made what was considered a major gaffe on
immigration — bumbling an answer and backtracking on driver’s licenses
for undocumented immigrants. But during her
time as senator she also co-sponsored the DREAM Act, supported the 2006
immigration bill, and introduced a bill to give immigrant children
access to Medicaid.
Even
before Peralta left for Oxford, uncertain if he could return, Bill
Clinton spoke to him at his Princeton graduation, who told him that he
had heard about his case from Hillary Clinton.
“It
meant the world to me to know that that here were these two extremely
important politicians who wanted to help me with my immigration
predicament,” Peralta said. “It wasn’t a passing
familiarity but they were conversant in the details, and offered to
lend their support to me. To this day it’s difficult to capture in
words.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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