Berkeley Students Use Video Game to Stay in Contact With Deported Classmate, Petition for His Return

A group of children from Berkeley have taught adults a valuable lesson in solidarity by using a videogame to stay in contact with a classmate that was deported to Mexico along with his family. 

Rodrigo Guzmán, 10, was deported along with his family last January, and had to stop attending Jefferson Elementary in the north California region. Dismayed by his deportation, his classmates started an online petition to bring him back. They amassed 2,788 signatures and created the Facebook page "Bring Rodrigo Home," along with a YouTube channel.

According to The Latin Times, Rodrigo's friends requested that the Berkeley City Hall, the school district and Oakland's Democrat Representative, Barbara Lee, approve resolutions that would help their cause.

"We have to fight for Rodrigo's rights because he's not able to do it himself," wrote 10-year-old Kyle Kuwahara in a letter addressed to President Obama. "I address you today on what would be Rosa Parks' 100th birthday to do the right thing. So that Rodrigo and his family can come back to their home, school and friends in Berkeley."

Despite the intense campaign generated by the children, parents and teachers, things haven't moved as fast as they had hoped. The immigration system is complicated, the children were told.

This is why, worried by the possibility of losing contact with Rodrigo, Kyle and his twin brother, Scott, turned their attention to Minecraft, a videogame that allows you to create virtual worlds. The game has allowed the friends and classmates to keep in touch with the deported boy.

"We just wanted to be able to hang out with Rodrigo somewhere where none of those things matter," said Scott. "The more we learn about immigration, the more unfair it seems."

Minecraft, one of the most successful games in recent years, has become a refuge for these students and for Rodrigo, a place where they can, virtually, still be together.

Young Rodrigo was born in Mexico City, but lived in Berkeley since he was two years old. On January 10, he was deported along with his parents, Reyna Díaz Mayida, an accountant in Mexico who cleaned houses in Berkeley, and Guzmán Ponce, who works as a cook, when they tried to extend their tourist visas.