Well-known researcher invited to U.S. on prestigious fellowship released from deportation proceedings after wife launched online campaign on Change.org.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released prominent researcher, consultant, and business owner Atanas Entchev and his son from detention after his wife Mayia started a campaign on Change.org that garnered more than 1,000 supporters.
Atanas and son Enislav, who would qualify for the DREAM Act, were detained in Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, New Jersey, for 65 days. All three family members have been given a temporary one-year stay of deportation.
“Words fail to describe how grateful I am to supporters who signed my wife’s petition on change.org,” said Atanas Enislav upon his release. “I wish I had been free to continue to contribute to the U.S. economy, instead of being a drain on it while in detention. I am confident that common sense will prevail, and that the U.S. will again, and soon, welcome those who came to start here a new and better life.”
“We are thrilled the Entchevs were released from detention,” added lawyer Eric Mark. “However, the Stay of Removal is a temporary and insufficient solution. We will begin immediately to work on a permanent solution to keep this talented, hard-working, and beloved family in the United States where they can continue to contribute to this country as they have for 20 years.”
Atanas Entchev, a prominent expert in geographic information systems and owner of New Jersey-based consulting firm Entchev GIS Architects, legally immigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago after he was awarded a prestigious fellowship by Rutgers University to expand knowledge in a specialized architectural field. His son and wife arrived two years later. After obtaining an exchange visitor visa, the family applied for asylum from Bulgaria but were denied. Atanas was then approved for a visa as an Outstanding Professor/Researcher but received faulty legal advice that led to the case not being reopened.
The family is currently reunited in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
“This is a clear example of Change.org’s platform serving its purpose: to empower anyone, anywhere to take action on the issues they care about,” said Gabriela Garcia, an organizer at Change.org. “The progress that Mayia Entcheva has seen with her campaign in just a matter of weeks, even as her husband has been held in detention and her family’s consulting firm has struggled as a result, demonstrates how possible it is for everyday people to make a difference.”
Signature Total from Mayia Entcheva’s campaign:
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-ice-stop-the-deportation-of-atanas-entchev-and-family
Contact information for petition signers in your area can be arranged upon request:
Gabriela Garcia
Organizer, Change.org
pr***@ch****.org
(202) 684 2552
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