Yesterday, Gabriela Galarza, a girl who was born in the United States, signed a document petitioning to adopt her father, Ecuadorian Héctor Florencio Galarza, placing her thumb print on the letter that will be sent to President Barack Obama.

Only six-years-old, Gabriela witnessed her father's deportation last August, and together with her mother and her brothers Juan Diego, 17, and Roberto, 3, she has signed on to the campaign known as "Adopt an Immigrant."

This national initiative has already sent 360,000 petition documents to the White House, according to information provided to El Diario/La Prensa by Osvaldo Cabrera, president of the International Latin American Coalition, the organization which began the drive.

"The adoptions are symbolic, but they have affected some judges, who have halted deportations in some cases," Cabrera informed us. "We don't want any more deportations, nor do we want the children's rights to be violated, so we are planning to go to Congress and the United Nations," he added.

Consular representatives met with activists at the Ecuadorian Consulate, where they contacted Héctor, who said by telephone, "I feel bad because I'm alone. I have been torn away from my family in spite of being a good citizen and paying taxes."

According to Cabrera, "Héctor was the victim of bad judicial practice. He was given poor advice by an incompetent lawyer to apply for asylum when any jurist knows that Ecuador does not have asylum in the United States." 

Héctor had an emotional conversation with his family: "Dieguito, how are you? Keep up the struggle as the man in the family. I'm grateful you are taking care of the little ones and helping your mother. God grant that someday we can be united as a family."

Juan Diego, 17, is one of the best students in his school and tells El Diario/La Prensa that he wants to go on to study engineering or mathematics. But while trying to achieve his career dreams, he is looking for work, since the deli where he had an after-school job has laid off workers due to the financial crisis. And because of his status as an immigrant, a shadow is also cast on his dream of attending a university. Activists have asked the community to help this young man so that his talents are not lost.

More information is available at www.coalicionla.org.