Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Mark Brown: Oscar's story

Oscar a true immigration success story
Do you also want to deport someone with so much to offer?


September 4, 2007
BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist
Oscar was 9 years old when his family slipped unchallenged in broad daylight through a hole in the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz. Two days later, they caught a plane from Phoenix to Chicago, where they met up with relatives already living here.

That was 12 years ago. Oscar is now in his third year at Governors State University, where he's carrying a 4.0 grade average with a double major in computer engineering and computer science.

Oscar is paying his own way through school, mostly with income from a computer business he started in high school. Finding that he was helping everybody else with their computer problems, Oscar saw an opportunity to make some money. Now he does everything from simple repairs to Web design to consulting small businesses.

But don't pigeonhole Oscar as a computer geek. He's personable and well-spoken, so well-spoken that a local immigrant-rights advocate offered up Oscar and some like-situated young men and women to serve as the person I said I was seeking to replace Elvira Arellano as the face of illegal immigration in the United States.
-snip-

Click here for story

No comments: