Make a Difference Monday: Cayla Roberts

Here’s what you need to know about Cayla Roberts:

She came to the US  from China illegally, when she was 12. Her father had some gambling debts, and in order to pay them, sold his daughter.

To a sex trafficking ring. 

Which brought her here.

Fortunately for Ms Roberts, she was taken into police custody immediately upon entering the country. Yay! The trafficking ring was busted. Yahoo! But then, there was the problem of what to do with 12 year old Cayla. She couldn’t go back to China, because the remaining members of the trafficking ring would kill her.  And her father – who so lovingly SOLD HER – had also threatened to kill her. So instead, she was placed with a foster family.

Where she demonstrated that she is awesome.

Honour roll? Check. Volunteering to help others by, among other things, rebuilding houses after Hurricane Katrina? Check. Working with children? Check.

Cayla Roberts has been an outstanding US citizen, the kind we want all of our citizens to be.

Cayla Roberts is married – to a US citizen – and is about to graduate from college with a double major.

She’s also in danger of being deported, because she entered this country illegally. Even though she didn’t do so by choice, even though she can’t go back to China safely. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she is an illegal.

This is RIDICULOUS. It is dishonourable. It is just plain not okay.

Here’s what you can do.

Sign this petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/cayla-roberts

Tell her story.

And use your voice to speak when you see something like this, which is so blatantly and painfully wrong. Like Cayla:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yr4_sn67UE

(For more information, and a much better explaination of the legalites surrounding this, please see http://www.xojane.com/issues/cayla-roberts-sex-trafficking-victim-immigration-customs-enforcement where it is covered more fully.)