[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E315]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      JUSTICE FOR ALUSIA AND LEDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 18, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I recently introduced a private bill (H.R. 
731) on behalf of two extraordinary young women, Alusia and Ledia Zace.
  Alusia and Ledia were brought here from Albania by their parents in 
1996 when they were 8 and 9 years old. Their fathers' legal bid for 
political asylum was denied in 2004 due to the incompetence of their 
lawyer and was deported in 2007. This injustice forced the girls and 
their mother to care for themselves. With no legal representation, the 
girls face deportation.
  The sisters have excelled academically in the U.S. and are attending 
university in San Diego. They can neither read nor write their native 
language and would most certainly be condemned to a life without 
opportunity should they be forced to return to Albania. The U.S. is 
their home and they should be given an opportunity to finish college 
and contribute to the only community they know.

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