David Bendezu, a 24 year old college student, was arrested by 5 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in his home, in front of his 5 year old son, the morning of April 12, 2012. David was informed a deportation order had been issued. He was whisked away to a holding cell awaiting deportation to Peru, a country he has escaped with his family when he was 15 as his family fled attacks by Peru's Shining Path movement.

David is the sole member of his family to be denied legal residency in the United States. His father, stepmother and brothers have all been granted visas to remain in the US, but David, who turned 21 before the courts granted the visas, was denied inclusion as an adult. David's father, shattered at this news, never told David that a deportation order had been issued in his name.

Since arriving in the US at 15, David has done what hard working young adults do. He graduated high school, attended college in pursuit of an Engineering degree, and worked 30 hours a week to provide a home to the son he adores. He fell in love and married. David never considered returning to Peru, a country where he has no ties or support system. He put his faith in hard work and the belief that it would lead to a path toward citizenship in the country he calls home.

David is slated to be deported to Peru this Sunday morning. His entire family, his wife, and his child will remain in California. We are signing this petition to ask that David be allowed a one year stay on the deportation so that he might avoid plunging his son into instability, establish a plan to reunite with his wife and son, and possibly be granted an opportunity to remain in the US.

On June 17, 2011, John Morton, Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued a memo to ICE field agents detailing priorities for individuals to pursue for deportation. In the memo, Morton decrees that certain individuals should be provided discretion. Among factors to be considered:

"the circumstances of the person’s arrival in the United States and the manner of his or her entry, particularly if the alien came to the United States as a young child"

"the person’s pursuit of education in the United States, with particular consideration given to those who have graduated from a U.S. high school or have successfully pursued or are pursuing a college"

"whether the person has a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child, or parent"

David Bendezu has a son and a wife that are U.S. citizens. He entered the country as a child, fleeing violence. He has graduated high school and been attending college.

We encourage Senator Feinstein to intervene and prevent the deportation of David Bendezu.

We ask how it can be considered just:

- That an entire family runs from violence in their homeland, endures a long road to legal residency, and everyone in the family is granted the right to live in the USA but the oldest son?
- That a child can be brought to this country at 14, graduate high school, successfully attend college, live independently by working hard (essentially transition to adulthood with more success yet far less opportunity that a typical American kid) and then be targeted for deportation to a country where he has no connections?
-That a young father who has defied every stereotype of the teen dad by committing entirely to his son and raising him into a glorious, polite, and bright 5 year old is being torn from this child, dooming him to a life of instability and fatherlessness one week after the child’s fifth birthday?
- That a young man married to a US citizen and dedicated to the work of marriage and loving fully is being sent from the country with little opportunity and no income to reconnect with his wife?
- That a country that has clearly defined in the Morton memo the individuals to be targeted for deportation chooses to instead ignore these very clear directives and deport a young man who meets the criteria for not being targeted?
- That a young man who was never informed by any attorney or immigration office that he was in this country illegally was arrested in his home, in front of his very scared son, and threatened with immediate deportation to a country where he will be homeless and poor?

This deportation case is not only without sense, it is without compassion. It is cruel and it is devastating. Not only will David be plunged into poverty and homelessness in Peru, his son will be plunged into instability and his wife robbed of her husband. David did nothing to bring this on himself. On the contrary, he worked hard, studied hard, parented with commitment, and believed the promise of our country.

We petition Senator Feinstein to exert the authority and power David Bendezu is denied in the name of fair and just immigration policies.