The Choice Channel

“The FIRST international robotics championship is supposed to be about the world’s best young engineering wizards showing off their skills. But for an illegal immigrant getting a U.S. education under the threat of being deported to Africa, it meant a secret revealed. An upset victory the East Harlem Tech robotics team scored over elite New York City schools had unintended consequences for 18-year-old Amadou Ly. He had to tell his teammates about his immigration problems because he had no valid ID to board a flight to Atlanta. ‘I never wanted to share this with people,’ said Ly, a lanky senior from Senegal. Three days a week for six weeks, as long as janitors didn’t kick them out of spare rooms, Ly and his 18 teammates worked with donated tools to build a robot capable of shooting balls into a goal.” (04/28/06)