Gutierrez announced Monday that he’s invited Gabino Sanchez, a South Carolina man who is fighting deportation from the United States, to attend the speech. Gutierrez has been working on behalf of Sanchez to help him secure legal residency in the United States, accompanying him to three Immigration and Customs Enforcement appointments.
Sanchez, who has two U.S. citizen children, has been living and working in the United States since coming here when he was 15. Last May, he secured a one-year deferral of his deportation which allows him to work legally. Sanchez has received misdemeanor charges for driving without license but otherwise has a clean record and, in a statement, Gutierrez indicated he sees Sanchez’s case as a test case for Obama’s stated policy to prioritize those who have committed serious crimes for deportation.
