Front Row: Samiha, Ferdousha, Simran holding a picture with Balbu
Oct. 10, 2017 By Tara Law
Two teenage girls from Sunnyside begged President Trump to stop their father’s deportation at a press conference in Jackson Heights this morning.
The girls, Simran Sharif, 18, and Samiha Sharif, 14, are high school students who are American citizens, having been born here. Their father, Bablu Sharif, is a Bangladeshi immigrant who has lived in the United States since 1992.
Bablu, who overstayed his tourist visa, has had a standing deportation order against him since 1999, but since 2013 has had an “Order of Supervision.”
This policy has allowed him to gain a work permit and work legally. In June, when he checked in with the Enforcement or Removal Operations (ERO) office to renew his permit as part of his annual check in, he was immediately detained by ICE.
Bablu, who lives with his family in Sunnyside, does not have a criminal record.
For the Sunnyside family, the press conference was a last resort, said Mazda A. Uddin, an activist who has worked closely with the family and the families of 10 other detainees. Since he was detained, Bablu has been transported by ICE to Louisiana and then to Arizona. Uddin said that the Sharifs have learned from lawyers that there is no other recourse to prevent Bablu’s deportation, and that he could be deported at any time.
The girls are academic strivers; Samiha, who attends Manhattan Hunter Science School, wants to become a lawyer, and Simran, who attends the Academy of Finance and Enterprise in LIC, dreams of becoming a doctor. The press conference took place at Smart Academia, a tutoring center in Jackson Heights where the girls study.
Their mother, Ferdousha, said that it has been particularly difficult for the girls as the school year has started. Samiha began high school this year, and Simran is in her final year of high school and is preparing to apply to college. The girls were brought to tears as they spoke about their father.
“I don’t want to go to school any more because my mom is crying all the time for my father,” Simran said. “I cry also, but I don’t want to cry in front of my sister… I want to study, but no matter how hard I try I cannot because I think all the time about my dad.”
Bablu, an Uber driver, is the family’s breadwinner. Ferdousha, who is also dealing with ICE, has health issues and is a homemaker. The girls worry about what will happen to their family.
“Who will take care of us if our father is deported?” said Samiha. “We are surviving with the help of some friends. Now, if my dad is deported, I don’t know how I’m going to survive. I don’t know how my future will look.”
The family was joined by local activists and Assembly Member Ron Kim, who represents Flushing.
“It doesn’t get any more American than this family. They came to this country in pursuit of a better life, a better future,” said Kim. “All of these immigrants who thought that they could trust the government and step forward, who filed for deferred deportation, are living in fear and they have to go back into the shadows.”
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Babbo and El Loco will be driving Rickshaw Ubers in Bangladesh now.
Too bad. This isn’t my problem that this guy drew the short straw and was born in Bangladesh and snuck in here. We all can’t be lucky and born here. Send him back
Tomi Lahren’s ancestor forged his citizenship papers to get to the U.S., Melania Trump got paid to work as a model before she had the proper paperwork all of which are illegal and could be deportable offenses. I am sure if any of you knew enough about your family’s immigration story, there very well could be some fudging…people who lied about their ages at Ellis Island, etc. The fact of the matter is that we are all immigrants here. It’s not like anyone asked the Native Americans if they wanted any Europeans to come over. Immigration happens. If you were hungry or being denied civil liberties or were looking for a better life for your future kids, you would do whatever you needed to do that. That is our shared humanity. Have some compassion. The average monthly wage in Bangladesh is $60 per month. I bet every one of your relatives or even you yourself came to this country for a better life. And yes, our immigration policy throughout our history has been outwardly biased and racist towards white people so don’t go feeling special if you “came here legally”.
i have just fired El Loco; he is no longer part of Oran Juice Jones Enterprises. Based on El Loco’s Snowflake comments on this thread he is now unemployed. He used to be a man who never took a knee, now he can hang out with the fake Sunnyside NY wannabees in Starbucks. He can hear stores of how tough their life was when they lived in Vermont and ate Ben and Jerry’s ice cream with their mommys and daddy’s. Maybe they can share some of their parents money with El Loco. Lily is looking down and very disappointed in El Loco right now. Hey maybe El Loco will move back in with Grape Soda Barbara on 39 Place now. Neal will be a great father in law to him. Hey Al from a Sunnyside…come to my office…I have a job for you now.
Who is quoting who, saying Bablu did not have a criminal record. How did Bablu come to the attention of the Clinton’s justice dept. way back in 1999 to start a process to be sent back.
The sad truth is that this family is better off in Canada. A higher standard of living, a brighter future, and dignity.
Stop the bullshit he is here illegally, laws are laws and he should be deported! Overstayed his tourist visa what kind of crap is that!!
Jason- You have a lot to say about the rule of law except when it applies to companies who hire illegal immigrants. You’re exactly what the Reoublican party and their propaganda outlet Fox News loves loud and easily manipulated.
Nothing for nothing he probably owns a mansion back home
Or he’ll get recruited by ISIS.. Just the thing they are looking for.
Hypothetical story teller
Very good. Let isis determine our immigration policy.
The father put his kids in this situation
Eamonn- The person who hired the “father” put the “father” in this situation. No job no illegal alien labor force. Fox News has you trained well.
Oh please. His boss is at fault? Talk about a sorry excuse. You make me feel less sorry for them now. Putty party here folks. Talk about passing the buck. His boss is probably from his country. Get real.
@Eamonn- You are obviously unfamiliar with the American Judicial System. His boss is a criminal as is anybody who hires an illegal alien. Fact! Criminals are forced to pay restitution in our system. Fact! Except companies like Hormel Meat caught with 200 undocumented workers, Tyson Chicken caught with hundreds of undocumented workers and corning glass just to name a few. Most butchers in Iowa and Nebraska are now undocumented workers, that was once a unionized job that supported an American and “legal” Immigrant families. Talk about a lack of knowledge of the topic you are posting to this comment stream about…Get informed!!
The man took a gamble and lost .In the real world it happens all the time
Eamonn – Are you normally this smug when you’re being played a fool and forced to flip the bill for other people’s illegal activity ? Whether it’s an illegal immigrant, their family or the person who has kept the illegal immigrants illegally employed making millions in the process? You don’t seem to mind paying to prosecute, deport or put tens of thousands on the welfare roles. Fox News and Corporate America loves a gullible smug know it all like you. Our law makers should be forced to go after the companies who profited and continue to profited from illegal alien labor not just the brown guy you don’t like.
So putting the remaining American children of the deported on welfare is a viable solution?
Send them to Bangladesh and let that government take care of them. They can blame their father.
Deportations have been going on for decades.Obama deported more people than any president.Blaming Trump is fashionable these days.I know of similar sad situations like this over the years .Beaurocracy doesn’t see the human side to anything.
@Rob- To quote the article “Bablu,had an “Order of Supervision.”
This policy has allowed him to gain a work permit and work legally. In June, when he checked in with the Enforcement or Removal Operations (ERO) office to renew his permit as part of his annual check in, he was immediately detained by ICE.” The man was complying and cooperating with the Govt.then the new administration turned the Govt on the man.This is different then the deportations executed by the Obama administration who deported people picked up in sweeps and those who engaged in criminal activity.
This is such a waste. Sympathies to this family, especially the children.
You are a misguided liberal. What should our immigration policy be? If you get here and have kids and then put them in front of a microphone to cry they can stay. What about people who obey the law and come here legally. Sorry Babu back to Bangladesh! Now go ahead liberal boy and call me heartless. What’s your idea for immigration policy?
I happen to think there’s a space in this country that folks that work, pay taxes, stay out of trouble, and raise smart kids.
Y’all that whine and complain about immigration are typically unemployed losers.
There’s plenty of humane immigration policies out there if you’re really interested … I don’t need to outline them for you here in a comment section.
Heartless? No, you are more like a brainless. Get rid of illegal criminals, and stop crime on the streets, then you can get to kicking out peaceful people out of this country.
I literally hate you and all you stupid ass comments on every article! Get a life
El loco- Shouldn’t there be some type of penalty for the person who enticed this illegal alien and other illegals with illegal employment? You’re a typical conservative, selective on who is prosecuted and who gets to live above the law.
He probably hires illegal immigrants to do his work too. Every penny counts, you know.
Is there a way we can support this family directly? Is there a go find me page or equivalent? I am a Sumnyside resident who wants to help out! Please let me know how I could help!
Yes send them all your money
Eamonn
are you a troll
sorry spell check
should’ve read are you a TOOL.
I came from Ireland . I did it legally, with no ones help. This person should do the same. If you want to support a guy who lied, broke the law then fine with me sucker. This guy probably never paid taxes and was probably laughing how he got over. Now he has been captured its a big tear jerking sob story well isn’t that a shame.
@Eamonn- Don’t forget the people who hired this guy and kept him gainfully employed “illegally” they’re the other half of this crime and they’re the ones who should be picking up the tab for deporting this illegal alien not the American taxpayer who is actually a victim of this crime.Trump is sticking it to the taxpayer once again. Wait until we get the bill for his wall. Do you feel the same way about the estimated 50K illegal Irish here?
Well said!
Everyone pays taxes! Uber reports income. And it’s not like he can walk into CVS and say, “oh, i won’t pay sales tax on that, I’m an immigrant.” Every time he filled his tank he paid federal tax. The only person in this country who doesn’t pay tax is Donald Trump. Shall we deport him?
Give them some of your trust fund.
Yes and give them your kids collage fund also
This is entirely on him. He came to the country and was admitted on good faith, then he illegally overstayed his tourist visa and never left. He should have been deported long ago. Better late than never. This will send a message and others like him will know they must use legal channels if they want to come here.
Overstayed his TOURIST visa. They should add a law that anyone born on the US to anyone with a standing deportation order, is not a citizen. Boo-hoo. Don’t break the law next time.
What can we do to help?
You can help. Give the family your money.
@Sunnysider…”What can we do to help”?..We’ve already helped..He stayed illegally and broke the law…He had children here who received the benefits of free education..How about setting up a fund to purchase tickets for the family to meet Dad in Bangladesh..Once in Bangladesh perhaps Dad and family will try things the legal way and join thousands of others who want to emigrate
Good for you mac. Spot on
Mac, I’m sure the reason why you’ve been so sad a dejected for the past 25 years was that this hard working guy trying to raise family was living here illegally.
Good thing he’s being deported- your life will turn around now. I’m sure of it. And on the off chance it’s not better? Search for someone else. Then repeat.
Gee wiz let me add this up…Bablu chooses to over stay his tourist visa guess he was having too much fun at Disney World…Bablu meets a woman and then chooses to become a DAD…Not once but twice!!…Bablu chooses to break the law!!..Well Bablu’s choices have consequences
Gee wiz fake Mac. We didn’t hear one word out of you during y
our rant about the person or company who employed Bablu and made and saved a great deal of money in the process. Why are you giving the people who hire illegals a free pass and actually cheering on the US Taxpayer paying to clean up the mess left by their lucrative criminal activity? The brown guy didn’t commit his crime without assistance.
How about blaming the state?..Bablu was an Uber driver and it was NY State that gave him the drivers license!..
Mac- (fake Mac) Go back and re-read the article and then take a remedial reading class. A federal program granted him a right to a drivers license (since there is no such thing as a federal drivers license in US). Quote the part of the article that you failed to comprehend. He “had an “Order of Supervision.”
This policy has allowed him to gain a work permit and work legally. In June, when he checked in with the Enforcement or Removal Operations (ERO) office to renew his permit as part of his annual check in, he was immediately detained by ICE”
or…get very very angry that he lost everything, and try to get revenge. when a man loses his mind, anything can happen. glad i dont work in the city, lolz. what can you do. bad things happen to good people.
Send the family your money so they can go back home together
I know this site’s MAGA folks will have a field day with this. Yes he came illegally, but is this the result you all wanted? 25 years in this country with a family and now there’s a bunch of pain, government dollars being spent, and absolutely zero gained by kicking him out. This is what the Trump folk wanted- how does it feel? Is this the step towards greatness you were all talking about? Queens used to reward people like this- and now the first president from Queens is the one to spend all his time and our money on punishing hard working people like this.
Problem is the 25 years were as an illegal. I guess we should pick and choose who can stay. Why don’t we have 5 sets of rules?
GG – We get to make the rules on immigration. We can say that people who have been here for 25 years can stay by looking at their record, etc. So yes – we should be allowing them to stay by making many exceptions. Many more than “5 sets of rules”, we can allow millions of hard working people in America stay here by all sorts of common sense exceptions that benefits our country and the people wanting to stay.
It won’t take long before the exceptions will be heavily exploited .
Photo op time for jvb. Why not take a knee with these people in front of all the cameras.
JVB should be more like Trump and Pence who continuously try to strip health care from tens of millions of working Americans and throw millions into the ranks of the working poor with Right to Work for less legislation. The copanies who profited from decades of illegal alien labor should be paying for these deportations and the wall not the American taxpayer. Trump is a Manchurian candidate.
Spot on Neziah. But unfortunately the MAGA folks will indeed be thrilled because this poor guy is brown and muslim, and MAGA supporters don’t like either. Their ‘analysis’ isn’t any more complicated than that. If they thought more about these things, they wouldn’t be on the trumptrain waiving tiki-torches.
I’m sorry to ruin your racist statement but I know “brown” people that voted for Trump.
no you dont…stop lying
Yes Neziah the message we want to send to the world is get here anyway you can and the welcome mat is out. I despise President Trump but as far as illegal immigration goes he’s right. Foreigners can’t determine our immigration policy. Those 2 will just have to visit their dad in Bangladesh. Everyone in the world is not born with a right to come here.
There are far more “legal” people who deserve to be kicked out of this country, but they target people like this. I get it Trump wants to make a point and get more support from his white supremacist followers, but this tells you as a country where we are right now. Believe it or not, rest of the country is nothing like NY, travel around a bit and you’ll see the type of people who live outside the diverse cities like NYC.
Did this gentleman Mr. Balbu pay taxes during the years he stayed here? If he didn’t, than things are different. But if he did, and if they want to deport him, he should demand all his taxes refunded.
“The type of people that live outside the diverse cities like NYC”-Your nothing but a liberal snobby snowflake.
Dave Smith- You sound like a Fox watching conservatoire Republican. Republican the party of stupid as said by a Republican governor of Louisiana. How is that low wage right to work for less wage treating you?
What’s your evidence they targeted him? He is just one of them listed to be deported! You can hate Donald Trump but doesn’t mean we should make illegal become legal!
El loco- for the vast majority of our history we did allow everyone to come. Basically as long as you didn’t have lice or TB, you got through ellis island if you could afford the ticket or make your way here. Our current restrictions on immigration are the exception to the rule rather than the norm. People are having less and less kids, and if we don’t continue to open up to the world as we always have our growth will fall and we’ll no longer be the top dog in my opinion.
But regardless of how tight we are at the boarder, kicking this man out does no good. People who have been here and contributed should not go. Period. It serves no one but hurts many.
Foreigners can’t write our immigration policies but insurance companies can write our health care policies, oil companies can write our energy policies pharmaceutical companies write our drug policies and company lobbyist write our immigration policies. That’s the way it is. If trump was truly sincere in his belief and efforts on immigration he would go after the companies capitalizing off illegal alien labor along with illegal aliens.
U must have gotten ur nightly dose of the Communist News Network eutopian babble.
Ray- The only communist here are you and the other Republicans who want to put the kids of people like the guy in this article on welfare and stick the American taxpayers with the bill of cleaning up the illegal alien mess instead of forcing the people who made billions of dollars offf of illegal alien labor pay for the costs. You may enjoy giving others a free ride and being played a chump but the rest of us aren’t so happy with this arrangement.
Ray- You voted for a Russian Operative for president and continue to support the moron but everyone else are communist. Nixon’s southern strategy is alive and well inside you. How is that low wage right to work for less job working out for you?
Is that Bruno Bobby Johnny Robert Bill.Now I know why liberalism is a mental disorder.
Ray is obviously just incapable of dealing with the topic of discussion of the article or the content within someones post. He is a great example of who hate talk radio like Rush Limbaugh target.
So why he is not held accountable for his own action? He knew he is illegal but chose to stay that way! There are WAYS to make your self legal citizens here. If I feel sorry for him, who feel sorry for these who follow rules to become citizens like myself???
Feels good knowing something’s being done about illegal aliens
I really feel the pain of this family. We should have empathy for the children and his wife. What are we doing as a nation to protect the American dream?
The two young girls need to fight for their education and continue pursuing their dreams.
Trump should think about his wife and how she became an American citizen just a few years ago. Imagine if ICE had the power to remove his wife from his child. I bet it will devastate his family. You must feel the pain of others to understand what they are going through. Trump’s wife was able to buy her citizenship with top lawyers. I hope that we start seeing the light that we all need each other as a nation to continue moving this country globally. In four years, this country needs to wake up and have citizens go out and vote!