SHOW UP AND SUPPORT MARCO'S ASYLUM PETITION

WHEN: NOVEMBER 7, 2019 AT 8AM 

WHERE: 26 FEDERAL PLAZA 

FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/535540230130453/

EVENT FLIER

CLICK HERE TO SIGN MARCO SAAVEDRA's ASYLUM PETITION

READ MARCO SAAVEDRA's STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF HIS ASYLUM

Dear Judge,

I am asking for political asylum from Mexico because of the many instances of violence and
murders of activist such as myself in my home country. Since 2010 I have outed myself as an
undocumented immigrant to build solidarity within my marginalized community in the United
States and to advocate for our rights. In that effort I turned myself in to Border Patrol in Florida
in the summer of 2012 to look for other detainees that were not supposed to be a priority for
deportation. Working with the National Immigrant Youth Alliance we exposed cases of medical
neglect, lack of due process and accountability at the Broward Transitional Center, and secured
the release of dozens of detainees. Our efforts escalated as we began communicating with
immigrant youth in Mexico that would have benefited from DACA (Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals) but were either deported or self-deported before the executive action was
announced. For this campaign I volunteered to self-deport and return to the US as a group
requesting asylum. This was the logical end to our activism, we had to take our plight to an
international level and fight for protection from our home country. Though it was extremely
risky to return to Mexico I never hesitated with my decision. It was my responsibility to use my
privilege as a well-known Dreamer (Dream Act Eligible youth) to extend my resources to others
who could not remain in the US. As Dreamers we used our platform in the media, our
relationships in our community and with members of Congress to come to our aid and advocate
with us. Four years into the Obama presidency we knew that Dreamers had achieved some
political capital and if we did not capitalize on that momentum our movement would become
stagnant and complacent so we decided to escalate our demands with the border crossing.

Today I work in family’s well reviewed Mexican restaurant. My father is disabled and diabetic
and both my parents need my help as they approach middle age. However, I remain active in my
community by offering the restaurant as a welcoming place for immigrants. My biggest fear
were I to be deported is that I would not hesitate to fight back against the many abuses against
migrants and indigenous people throughout Mexico. Indeed matters have only gotten worse as
drug violence and political corruption have become one and the same. The disappearance of 43
students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College in Iguala, Guerrero is known throughout

the world. These were young adults who shared many of my own ideals; the conviction to help
their own communities, to educate the disenfranchised against the corruption in government and
for that they were ordered disappeared by local authorities who colluded with cartels. Having a
faith background committed to social justice and an established record of acting on these ideals I
would not tolerate any abuse of power, intimidation, or corruption from the government or from
the drug cartels exposing me to much danger. If deported to Mexico I would establish contact
with the migrant shelters that aid Central American migrants and try to serve there or in a rural
school in my home state of Oaxaca building on the experiences I have gained through years of
organizing in the US. My job remains the same on either side of the border. My life for the past
24 years has been in the United States and I seek protection in the place I call home.
Sincerely,
Marco Saavedra

CLICK HERE TO SIGN AND SHARE MARCO SAAVEDRA's ASYLUM PETITION

PRESS ON THE #DREAM9 #BRINGTHEMHOME #DACA #DREAM ACT

 United Behind a Son’s American Dream, No Matter the Consequences

By David Gonzalez

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