High school valedictorian living in America since age two faces deportation.
Filed Under: Immigration
By on Jun 2nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
High school valedictorian living in America since age two faces deportation.
The Fresno Bee reports that Arthur Mkoyan, a California high school valedictorian who has lived in the United States since he was two-years old — after his family fled the Soviet Union — faces deportation to Armenia as early as next month. Mkoyan, who earned a 4.0 GPA, had planned to attend the University of California-Davis. Last October, Congress rejected the DREAM Act, which would have allowed students like Mkoyan who were brought here illegally by their parents to remain in the U.S. as legal residents.
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How proud we should be for this.
Give us your tired, your poor…oh wait. Nevermind.
Live Frankly
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:49 pmOT: BTW, I am still looking for Hillary supporters. If you’re in Hils camp, would you pop by here when you get a sec?
http://livefrankly.wordpress.com/ 2008/ 05/ 31/ an-honest-question-to-clinton-supporters/
Thanks in advance!
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 pmWhy he’s taking an honor some Americun coulda had…
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 pm/snark
Can’t we figure out how to deport that PanaMcCainian doofus?
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:03 pmIs this a brain drain in reverse? Why not send W to the soviet Union (Russia now) and keep this kid? That would double the IQ of the average US citizen and send Russia into an abyss of intellectual depression.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:08 pmToo bad people like this who could help this country are subjected to deportation and people like Dubya get Pappy to buy them a dgree or two and fubar this country and the world.
There is no justice!
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:09 pmDream Act: Another vote skipped by McCain. McCain is true to form. He doesn’t want to be on the record for anything he might have to defend.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 pmGee. If his parents had only come here LEGALLY. Now he’ll just have to take his American education back to the old country and do them some good with it.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:13 pmAhh…can’t you just DREAM to be a PATRIOT and Protect America, ACT….to stop illegal immigration, and errosion of civil liberties…get it?.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 pmSo- when this family fled the USSR you woulda been all for them staying in the Soviet Union and applying for legal entry?
Seems plenty of conservatives felt that the people fleeing the USSR was A-OK back in the day when it was politically useful to them, ‘look- they escaped oppression and came to the land of opportunity!’
Now, that it’s politically unpopular among conservatives you wanna ship him back to a country that didn’t exist when he was born and he probably doesn’t even remember ’cause you think it’s the right thing to do?
Doesn’t the Bible say something about the sins of the fathers, rogers?
I wanna keep the valedictorian and deport your opportunistic ass to wherever your people came from, rogers- ’cause Dollars to Donuts you ain’t from around here originally…
And be considered guilty of a crime against humanity. Face it, Bush is a WEAPON OF MASS DUMBNESS
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:18 pmSince the USA has trailed pretty much every industrialized country in education, I guess it makes sense to deport somone who can help and assist this country. Considering the last 7+ years has been a topsy turvey, non-reality based world I suppose good sense is the last thing I should expect to see from our guberment. I bet if the kid graduated from regents college, he would already have a job in bush’s DOJ.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pmRogers-
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:23 pmA question… how exactly does letting this kid go to college and get a good job and conrtibute to the only country he’s ever known errode my civil liberties?
And when did that become the criteria for deportation? ’cause I know some C students who have done a bang-up job erroding my civil liberties- but they’re citizens so that makes it A-OK?
Forget it, man…it was a half-hearted statement which clearly went over your head.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:28 pmMaybe if you printed it on a pair of sweatshorts we all could understand the logic…
There is no comment that can express the asininity of the bushco bureaucracy bullshit blathering. I have no problem with any individual being singled out IF EVERY ILLEGAL is treated alike. Just have the young fellow go to work for a bushco sycophant at slave wages and he can stay forever. This Country is in one SORRY state of affairs.
We visited Mesa Verde National Park this past week for the third or fourth time and the evidence of the bushco bullshit is so evident that we will never go back. You now must pay the CONTRACTOR for each attraction(cliff dwelling)tour conducted by a Park Ranger and if you don’t carry your food in your vehicle instead of eating at the CONTRACTED cafe you are fined $75.00 per day. Fortunately King George the Dumb’s
sycophant was unsuccessful in cancelling the Golden Age Passport so we didn’t have to pay the entrance fee.
If the Rethugs are elected in November I plan to lead a revolution and we will go back to living in the cliff houses (if we can get away from the bushco contractor).
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:30 pmRogers is complaining because its simply another person who is smarter, makes a better living, is happier, is more loyal to America, is more well adjusted, is more capable of contributing to this great country. In short, the kid is everything Rogers should be. I think you call that jealousy.
Do I have your number Rx2?
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:33 pmTwo points, up until recently there was no such thing as an illegal immigrant. Almost everyones ancestors here now just showed up. This notion of legal immigrant is a novelty of the the reactionary wing of the GOP.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:33 pmSecond I am seriously pissed off. New Jersey tomatoes, legendary in their quality are in jeopardy because of no pickers. Most of the growers put in other crops this year that can be harvested by machine. I love my Jersey maters. First they ruined my favorite desert(Sonoran)with that frickin wall. And now my maters? This is war!
Hey this is one of those “illegal aliens” that we are building a $$$ foolish wall for between the USA and …Mexico…EXCEPT whereever a golf course or a rich Republican’s house exist….gotta hand it to Dobbs & the zenophobics of the world.
But seriously ….Won’t Boxer or Feinstein intervene? Has their intersession been sought?
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:35 pm.
What…?(!)
They’re gonna deport him?
I thought they would at least make him do a tour in Iraq.
.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:36 pmI would explain it to you, but I’d suggest maybe asking someone first who perhaps had better comprehension.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 pmOkay- I’ll make it an open question… can anyone explain how my civil liberties are eroded by this kid’s staying in the USA and going to college?
Anyone… Anyone…
Tha gomment doont whants know smarrt peeple hangn raund, naw does wee.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 pmThe right side cannot stand competition. they cannot stand it in business, government, school, or any other activity where achievement is needed. If someone else exceeds their skills, they either kill them, buy them out, smear them, threaten them, sic the government on them, or otherwse make their life miserable. The right side is a bunch of whiners. WATB!
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:39 pmStratRat,
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:42 pmYou mean the right side is a bunch of Whaaaahhhpublicans.
can anyone explain how my civil liberties are eroded by this kid’s staying in the USA and going to college?
Anyone… Anyone…M/em>
They only one I can think of is when the kid gets Rogers job at a fast food restaurant. Rogers feels his civil liberties are at risk because he is the only person in his family with a real job. He is saving up for that cool new style of clothing from Kmart.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:42 pmStratRat,
You mean the right side is a bunch of Whaaaahhhpublicans.
Whiny assed titty babies (WATB)…Yours works too.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:43 pmRogers-
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:46 pmHere’s the other thing… if you were truly a PATRIOT, as you claim you DREAM to be, wouldn’t you want the best and the brightest to stay here, in the USA? Wouldn’t keeping that talent at home be the best way to PROTECT AMERICA? After all, we’ve made the investment in his education so far wouldn’t the Conservative thing to do be to realize the return on that investment? That’s how a Patriot should act…
Amazing. At a time when politicians probably used this kid and his family for propaganda against the old Soviet Union nothing was said about their status. Now, they want to use this same kid as an example of how they are fighting illegal immigration. He has assimilated to our country, is American in almost every sense of the term and has excelled in school. And will probably continue to do so unless the idiot politicians and bureaucrats get their way. Maybe he’d have a better chance of staying here if he quits school, starts speaking Spanish, buys a hammer and is willing to be a roofer or carpenter’s helper for about $8-$9 per hour cash. They’d probably also let him do the gardening at their gated community homes. Maybe we could make a trade. Keep Arthur and his future here and send 100 Mexicans back to Mexico. I have nothing against Mexicans, so don’t go there, but if they can stay, why can’t this kid?
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:48 pmAhh…can’t you just DREAM to be a PATRIOT and Protect America, ACT….to stop illegal immigration, and errosion of civil liberties…get it?.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:49 pmPerhaps it is your punctuation that is puzzling me… now, I myself am a big fan of elipses but yours do leave me lost… get it?
What are you saying if not that illeagal immigration is eroding civil liberties?
rogers doesn’t realize that ALL europeans such as himself are ILLEGAL ALIENS in this continent! What a moron!
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:50 pmCrusty Old Bastard Says:
If the Rethugs are elected in November I plan to lead a revolution and we will go back to living in the cliff houses (if we can get away from the bushco contractor).
**You might not have any other choice….!
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:55 pmYeah, I understood that they were all the names of pieces of legislation… cute. I was never confused about the cleverness (debatable) of your post- just about what it said about your position. I just don’t understand why you would post something that wacky if it weren’t your point of view… You admit that the kid should get to stay in the US?
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:00 pmrogers Says:
belac says
please don’t play dumb just to irritate ppl…or maybe your lying and didn’t actually get it.
either way, that was really annoying.
Rogers lecturing others on PLAYING DUMB and IRRITATING PEOPLE!! ROTFL!! The IRONY!!! Rogers you MUST be a PARODY TROLL, because if you’re ACTUALLY THAT STUPID, I feel for YOU and ANYONE THAT KNOWS YOU!!! ROTFL!!
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:07 pmHopefully they can hold them off until after Obama takes office. I think this is something he will fix quickly. God, there are so many things he is going to have to fix, why on earth does he want the job? You really have to admire him for it.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 pmAnd the beat goes on Says:
**You might not have any other choice….!
House for sale cheap! Free dog to loving owner (Lhasa Apso female 74 people years old)! Owners moving to Bangkok, Thailand on the second Wednesday of November 2008 (If McSame steals another one!)
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 pmI don’t get what you were trying to SAY with the post if not that illegal immigration erodes civil liberties… I understand perfectly that you said it WITH the names of pieces of legislation- it’s not the FORM that confuses me, it’s the CONTENT…
Do you think that this kid should be deported?
I don’t think so and I support the DREAM act that would allow him to stay.
Your post made it seem like you thought that illegal immigration was eroding civil liberties while I argued that the PROTECT AMERICA ACT and the PATRIOT ACT and the Bush Admin. had that under control without any help from immigrants of any kind…
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 pmthat valedictorian job shoulda gone to a REAL Amurkin, not some commie-pinko-faggit-boy.
We gotta return to traditional values…
/snark
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 pmroger:
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:24 pmImmigration, legal or otherwise, does not erode civil liberties. the chokepoints and interferences deemed necessary by authoritarian regimes to stifle immigration erodes civil liberties.
You have to give the trolls a bit of time to use google to try to find their talking points. They need to keep posting sludge until they can find them. Multitasking confuses them to no end. And that damn google keeps coming up with facts rather than talking points! “Help, Mr. Wizard!”
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:52 pm/snark
Hey maybe if we export enough smart people then … then … uh … then we’ll be … uh … like the country the Republicans have always wanted _ stupid.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:00 pmroger-
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:05 pmSo that was a lot of sound and fury, but in the end it signified nothing? If you now admit that you DO wish the kid deported I’d refer you to my posts @ 10 and 29 to illustrate why you position is idiotic… get it?
belac Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
You’re playing with your food. :-D
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 pmYou’re playing with your food. :-D
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 pmCan you blame me? If you were asked to swallow that B.S. wouldn’t you postpone it as long as possible?
Get out you poster child of what is written on the Statue of Liberty. Those words were obviously written in the 1880s by illegal immigrants, I think those French.
Sacre Bleu
WTF is wrong with this country?
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 pmbelac Says:
Can you blame me? If you were asked to swallow that B.S. wouldn’t you postpone it as long as possible?
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying it very much. ;)
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 pmAbsolutely tragic.
This spits upon the long, healthy, well-established ideals of America. You know, America, the melting pot? America, home of immigrants from around he world? The land of opportunity? The place where everyone can succeed if they have the drive, know-how, and ambition to do so?
Yeah, not so much anymore, now that the corporations have control over enormous portions of our government, our policy, and our personal lives. Now, competition is stifled in favor of monopolies and oligopolies, and too few seems to give a damn that this is undermines We the People in ways devastating to the majority. This is blatant class warfare, and the war against immigrants is part and parcel of the undermining of the influence We the People have over our government. We are, all of us, children of immigrants. Even the Native Americans migrated here from numerous previous civilizations, in the earliest parts of this great melting pot that is America.
Now, immigrant is a bad word. Just as progressive, liberal, and countless other words with innocuous, or even noble connotations have been usurped by the Media Corporate Complex. We need to take all of these terms and words BACK. Immigrants are not to be shunned. They are to be welcome, so long as they are willing to do so legally. People brought here when they were very, very young had no choice. This young man has long been naturalized. He is far beyond the timeframe in which he should be allowed to gain citizenship.
We the People need to take this country back from the tiny fraction of people who control all of the resources, and most of the power. These people care nothing for the spirit of America. They care nothing for the ideals the Founding Fathers laid out before us. They are vile, hateful, greedy and selfish individuals who leech off of the hard work of everyone else. They are abusive, and we must end the abuse. Post haste. Else, We the People are doomed to the tragic legacy of yet another affluent empire that collapses under its own weight.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:32 pmDeport McSame instead. he cares not for our constitution or the people who live here. Ask one of his many lobbyist friends if they support this crap.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:29 pmZooey,
You caught me!
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:33 pmCrusty Old Bastard Says:
Zooey,
You caught me!
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Jeebus, I’ve been wondering. Good to see you again. :-)
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 pmWhat a joke. This country truly is the laughing stalk of the world. I am ashamed to admit I am American.
JJ
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:16 amWhats hiding on your PC?
And then Roger said:
“I’m sorry if you feel that somehow this kid deserves a break from the law, but unless the DREAM act was passed, he is an illegal immigrant like any other.
and to be fair, security for guarding against illegal immigration does arguable erode civil iberites….so I guess I meant what I said actually.”
This kind of shit really pisses me off.
So rogers is smug in his defense of the Nazi tactics adopted by the GOP which is presided over by the grandson of a Nazi financier (Prescott Bush, who failed in his attempt to overthrow the Federal Gov’t back in the ’30s and refused to stop backing the Nazis even after the war started).
rogers says he’s fine without any civil liberties, as long as his Nazi-loving GOP can deport children to strange lands.
Slavish devotion to Authority, no matter how obviously, blatantly wrong and inhumane, is a necessity to be a GOP 4$$hole. This is the result of Acting-President Reagan’s Zero Tolerance policies (enacted by the Nazi’s son George Bush Sr, a Nazi-lover himself).
The GOP leadership loves to destroy the lives of children, especially those that had no choice when they were brought here, by forcibly kidnapping them and dumping them in the streets of a foreign country where they don’t even speak the language and know no one. (For more examples of how the GOP/Nazi Party loves to kill children see the Iraq Occupation - Why else have they sent our troops to Iraq to murder women and children?)
Yes, this kid deserves a break from this law. In a land of Free and Just peoples, this law would never have even been written, or if it had, a real Supreme Court would have nullified it immediately for being Anti-American, UnConstitutional, insane and stupid.
But since the GOP is run by the grandson of a Nazi, it is unsurprising that Republicans get horny by writing inhumane legislation like this and that it’s upheld by the extreme right, anti-freedom judges appointed by the Republican-Nazis of today.
I am sick and tired of the children of the Republicans killing this once-great country.
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:21 amrogers, you make me sick to know we share the same planet. your very existence offends me. your lack of ability to feel for anyone beyond your comfort zone, offends me. did you even get a 4.0, you idiot? this person have been living the life of a model American citizen and you shit on them!
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:10 amTo Arthur Mikoyan, I am deeply sorry and ashamed that the people running my country are offending you this way. Honestly, you deserve to be governed by a better administration but unfortunately we don’t have one. They aren’t worth the gum under your shoe.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 amI would like to point out that Arthur Mikoyan is not illegal yet. His parents have work visas and his younger brother is a citizen. If sent back to Armenia, Arthur would be forced to serve in the army and would be ridiculed for having lived in America. His father would probably be killed by the mafia. His father originally fled Armenia to escape persecution and the corruption.
Legal aliens should be given priortiy over illegals because they respected our laws.
While the termonology “illegal alien” is a more recent one, the idea has been around for over 100 years when the US first introduced immigration laws and quotas.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:45 am