Another undocumented Michigan youth faces deportation

Ivan Nikolov is currently sitting in the Calhoun County Jail. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on May 5, along with his mother. The Russian national is enduring the slow turn of bureaucracy’s wheels as ICE decides whether he can stay — and return to his fiancee of three years — or, if like his mother, he will be put on a plane and sent back to Russia.

Nikolov, 21, was detained as an undocumented resident in his Roseville home when ICE agents raided the home to arrest his mother. The two had entered the U.S. when he was 11. They came to the U.S. ten years ago to be with Nikolov’s father and were detained at the U.S. Mexico border crossing at Tijuana, and released pending an immigration hearing.

But Nikolov says he and his mother moved and were never notified of the hearing that might have paved the way for him to become a U.S. citizen. Unknown to them, they became fugitives. Nikolov attended schools here in the U.S. After he graduated, he and his mother workeds cleaning houses and office buildings in the Detroit area.

His mother married an American national.

All that changed in the early hours of May 5, when ICE agents showed up at his home to arrest his mother. In an interview from the Calhoun County jail, Nikolov says the agents surrounded the house, beating on the door.

“They threatened my step dad, saying they would smash the door down,” Nikolov says. His step father let the men in, and they proceeded to round up everyone in the house. Nikolov himself was awakened by an ICE agent entering his room.

In the living room, agents asked his mother to produce documents showing she was a resident. She spoke to Nikolov in Russian, prompting the agents to direct their attention at him and demand his documents. Neither had the proper documents, so they were shackled and removed from the home.

Last Friday, Nikolov’s other was sent back to Russia. He got a reprieve from being sent back on Saturday due to political pressure being mounted by immigration activists. How long that reprieve will be no one knows. Activists pushing for the DREAM Act — which would provide a path to citizenship for young people brought illegally to the U.S. by parents — say Nikolov deserves a chance to earn his citizenship.

“Ivan has a clean record, is a hard worker, and has big dreams. I don’t know what I’d do without him. Please give him the chance to stay and let him pursue an education,” stated Alanna Woolley, Ivan’s fiancée of 3 years.

He says he has never had contact with police, an important part of the DREAM Act promise. Under the proposed legislation, which is stalled in Congress, youth like Nikolov would have an opportunity to seek citizenship by serving two years in the U.S. military or by attending college.

Nikolov wants to study film, but due to his undocumented status is unable to enter American colleges or universities as a student.

If Nikolov is sent back to Russia he has many worries.

“I don’t have anyone in Russia. No friends, no family. My fiancee is here,” he says. “In Russia, there is a mandatory draft. I don’t want to serve Russia’s interests. I consider myself an American.”

And while a national campaign continues to push for Nikolov’s freedom, he remains locked up in the Calhoun County Jail, in general population with, he says, “a bunch of violent criminals.”

“I don’t think ICE wants me out,” Nikolov says.

But the community is rallying. Since Aug. 9, advocates have made thousands of calls, and sent e-mails and letters to Congress.

“Talent like his has been recognized in the past. Herta Lusho, another Michigan native and DREAM-eligible youth, was granted deferred action last year,” stated Jose Franco, an immigrant youth and organizer with One Michigan. “We’re calling on DHS to recognize that Ivan’s case is nearly identical, and that deporting aspiring students is not the best policy.”

“Ivan is an asset, not a liability to this country,” stated Pastor Wesley Woods. “For the sake of this community, for his friends, for his family, we must ensure that Ivan stays in the country.”

ICE leadership has said it will not focus on deportation of individuals like Nikolov, but rather focus its energy on arresting and deporting those with criminal records.

Nikolov’s case is the second case Michigan Messenger has written of in regard to pending deportation action against an undocumented youth brought to the country while minors and residing in Michigan. The other case was that of Mohammad Abdollahi. Abdollahi participated in a sit-in of Sen. John McCain’s Tucson offices. He was arrested by local authorities for trespassing. Once released from local police custody, ICE agents arrested him on immigration charges.

Abdollahi came to the U.S. as a three-year-old when his parents came to the University of Michigan for studies. Due to a paperwork error, their status in the U.S. was downgraded to undocumented.

If deported back to his native Iran, Abdollahi could face beatings or execution because he is gay.

Update: Advocates for Nokolov told Michigan Messenger this morning that ICE has decided to release him rather than deport him. He is expected to be released sometime in the next 24 hours.