The+Story

Gifted robot-builders seem to be a hard find in a small, troubled East Harlem high school. Yet, there they are as part of a team, the “East Harlem Tech,” for an after-school program, building away and preparing for a national robotics finals in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the team’s members is Amadou Lye, the team’s robot operator. He is part of that small, troubled East Harlem high school.

Amadou came from Senegal at the age of thirteen on September 10, 2001, the day before the terrorist attacks of September 11. His mother left him there the next year with the hopes that he would be able to get a good education. And he managed, finishing 9th grade at Norman Thomas High School. His mother initially had the wish that he take a Greyhound bus to Indianapolis to attend North Central High School and stay with his mother’s sister, but she changed her mind, partially because she had four children of her own, and instead he transferred to Central Park East High School for his 11th grade year, where he gained a big interest in learning. His learning was not fueled by any of the special guests who came to instruct the students on careers, with one such guest being an elevator mechanic and another being a degree-less son of a machinist. But that did not stop him, and he helped propel the team to the national robotics finals, which is held in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was hard for Amadou to lead a normal life. He had to find jobs often, no matter how menial they seemed, to pay for school supplies and such. After some time, he finally found a place to live with a family friend.

Unfortunately, Amadou’s status as an illegal immigrant is hindering him very much. On the way to the national robotics finals, he had no ID to allow him to board on the plane, having to take a train to. His future is at stake as well, with no way to attend colleges that have accepted him and a two-year court battle regarding his immigration status and whether or not he should be deported. He cannot even afford a lawyer, with the first one he had leaving due to inability to pay dues and because he turned 18, many of the special pardons that minors would receive were revoked, making it that much harder for him. The only hope that Amadou has is a bill being presented for Senate consideration called the Dream Bill that would allow successful high school graduates to obtain legal status (something that existed pre-September 11) or if they had been accepted by any colleges, but this has also hit a snag because a measure passed by the House of Representatives has made his presence in the US as a felony and the House and Senate supercede the court’s authority.

Amadou wonders what will happen to him. He never told anyone about his status because he felt excluded. “Everyone else is a US citizen,” he says. Even his own team members only found out that he was an illegal immigrant the day before the team was to leave for Atlanta. The team had enough to deal with many of the students’ parents unable to be present for various reasons for a confirmation meeting, with the reasons being distressing events like a terminally ill parent, both parents arguing over whether or not their child can go to Atlanta and with one parent lacking the necessary money to buy a subway ticket.

Everyone that knows Amadou Lye will instantly vouch for him and his hope of being a legal US citizen. Unfortunately, it’s up to the Senate to decide.