His sibling was granted citizenship due to her younger age. He wasn’t.

Had the DREAM Act passed on this fateful day last year, Virgil Ciprian “Chip” Gilea would not be in jail.

His crime? He was brought here at the age of 15 by his parents who are now U.S. citizens, graduated from Boardman High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Youngstown State University.

His family is in the United States, he works and owns a car and home. Despite this, ICE has labeled him a ‘flight risk’ and refuses to release him from detention.

ICE officials wrote: “Your lack of regard for the immigration laws of the United States is blatant [...] along with facts that you have no equities in the United States, and little sponsorship if released, that you are considered to be a flight risk, and deemed likely to abscond.”

His parents are U.S. citizens along with a sibling. What kind of ridiculous U.S. immigration law renders one child an illegal while the other legal? Why doesn’t Chip, originally from Romania, have any sponsorship? Could it be because due to his Immigration Attorney filing his application 3 days late, he was rendered ‘illegal’ by the IJ? Once you are an ‘illegal alien’ in the United States without a 245-I, it is next to impossible to gain legal status.

Yet, ICE still shows a blatant ignorance of immigration laws. Michael Gilhooly, an ICE spokesman, stated, “It’s a crime to be in the U.S. illegally.”

Newsflash Gilhooly: Illegal presence is not a crime; it is a civic violation. Have they not given you a lesson in the ‘law of the land?’

Now why is a person in detention for a mere civic violation, separated from his family and community? Even if you believe that Chip should be deported, he does not deserve to be treated like a criminal.

If you live in Ohio and even if you don’t, consider contacting Senator Sherrod Brown who has taken interest in this case.

Read the whole story here.