Forget Barack, Little Saul Is the Next Campaign Superstar

By Olivia Leigh in News on Nov 14, 2006 3:22PM

Several months ago, you surely heard the story of Elvira Arellano, the illegal Mexican immigrant hunkered down in a West Side church in an attempt to avoid deportation.

As hers is no longer a top story on the major news networks, maybe you thought this problem had been resolved. Perhaps Arellano had unexpectedly decided to comply, or maybe the feds had decided this was one battle not worth fighting.

In fact, Arellano is still holed up in Adalberto United Methodist Church while her son has been traipsing across North America, effectively stumping for his mother’s cause.

Last month, 7-year-old Saul made his way to Washington, D.C., with Emma Lozano, executive director of Centro Sin Fronteras. There, he appeared at the Hispanic Congressional Caucus Institute with U.S. Rep. Luis Guitterez (D-IL), and also gave a letter to a White House staff through the House gates, requesting a meeting with President Bush. In his letter, he said he also told Bush “to stop the deportations so families can stay together in the U.S.”

After that effort failed, the Arellanos have decided to reach out to governments near and far. Drawing lobbyist comparisons once again, Saul spoke with congressmen in Mexico on Monday, and is expected to deliver an address before the Mexican Congress today in yet another attempt to grant his mother amnesty.

While we tend to be rather pro-immigration rights, we do think that the Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg might have a bit of a point. We’re impressed with “Saulito’s” professionalism, tact and eloquence in these matters, but we can’t help but think that what he’s required to do is less than fair. In an interview yesterday with the AP, Saul said, “I want to stay [in Chicago] because that is where my school is."

If only he had a bit more time to spend learning about history instead of having to create it himself.

Photo by Chepe1