With ICE's increasing presence in bus stations, airports, and train stations, random interrogations pertaining to citizenship status are becoming common-place. Victor Toro, a Chilean Born immigrants rights Activists who has lived here without documents since he left Chile (where he had been imprisoned for opposing Gen. Augusto Pinot) in the 1970's, and who has lived in the US since 1986, was one of the most recent victims of this sort of sweep. In an ironic twist of fate, a man who has been a constant ally, and outspoken activist on behalf of the Undocumented Immigrants living in the US, was searched while on a train from Rochester, NY to the Bronx, and when questioned about his status, admitted he was not a US Citizen, and also admitted that he had no legal papers to be here. He is now in prison in Cayuga County Jail, in Auburn, NY, awaiting hearing. Victor Toro plans to apply for Political Asylum, however, the case will be very difficult, since he has been here for many years, without applying for such status. However, a deportation to Chile would be even more difficult, because Under his countries political regime, he would have been pronounced "Dead". Mr. Toro applied twice for a new Chilean Passport, and was each time, told he had been pronounced dead.
One must wonder, how many of our undocumented residents fall into such status, where they are unable to return to their own country, and yet, declared "Illegal" here as well.
Read the full article from the New York Times here:
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