Lift the Torch

Pedro Gutierrez led the crowds and lifted the torch of freedom on the Phoenix Martin Luther King Parade.
He could have been doing so many things that day.. many... like packing his belongings, maybe retreat to his place in shame or bitterness since the following day his deportation had been scheduled, but he decided to attend the Parade. "It was crazy", he said, "I chose to go to the parade".
Lewis and Jane Storey found my name and phone number on Facebook thanks to a lead provided by Luis Avila, hoping I will be able to help Pedro Gutierrez and save him from deportation. The Storeys have been mentoring Pedro for years touched by his story of good behavior in spite of tremendous odds. Being brought undocumented by his grandmother (who had legal status) after his parents wasted their lives lost on drugs. Grandma was later unsuccessful making connections with more relatives in Mexico when she fell gravely ill. When she dies, leaves Pedro at 11 at the care of her African American husband, who abandons him before Pedro becomes an adult.
In spite of the abandonment, Pedro dreams to follow his step grandfather's life in the military and sought recruiters to join. His legal status prevents Pedro to enlist but relentless he "trains" along the new recruits.
Getting all the details on Pedro and his touching story I asked my fellow CADENA members for their permission to use the list of supporters and request their action with phone calls and faxes asking DHS to stop Pedro's deportation. I also connected with Mohammad Abdollahi from dreamactivist network who made possible connections at national level, even finding a terrific Tucson lawyer, Mo Goldman, who took the legal side of Pedro's defense pro-bono. It was an exciting week where we put together a national team with the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition (which took care of the media events and rallies for Pedro), Adam Luna from America's Voice with the social media resources to send on line faxes and extensive distribution list, Mo from Dreamactivist network, CADENA, Lawyer Mo Goldman and the Storeys.
Thanks to the actions of many subscribers to our networks, DHS delayed the deportation date and granted Pedro Gurtierrez eventually deferred action.
Pedro now can be without fear, as long as this administrative procedure is in place.
On Saturday I saw Pedro and the Storeys in Casa Grande along with other students ready to form The Arizona DREAM Act coalition of Pinal County. Hearing Pedro recount of what he thought was his last hours of his life in the USA before being thrown into homelessness, made my own petty life disappointments dwarf by his experience.
"I chose to go to the parade... people recognized me and asked me to lead the Martin Luther King parade...gave me the the torch. What I thought was my last day of my life in the USA was the best day of my life. I could gave everything up for those moments when I had the torch and all would have been worth it".
So I wake up in the middle of the night and I think of Pedro and I get reminded: "live your life like you are going to be deported tomorrow". Lift the torch and lead the parade.