Detained for more than three months and held by federal immigration officials, he waits for imminent deportation to a country he has not called his home since he was 11. His name is Ivan Nikolov, 21, and his case has garnered the attention of immigration reform activists and local community leaders in his hometown of Roseville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

His fiance for the past three years, Allana Woolley of neighboring Grosse Point, Mich., says, “My fiancé, Ivan, has called America home since the age of 11 and is an American in every way, except for a piece of paper." Woolley is a student at Detroit's Wayne State University, where Ivan had also hoped to pursue a degree in film.

According to Woolley, Ivan came to the U.S. ten years ago from Russia with his mother and biological father. Early on his father may have held legal papers for the family, but after a year and an abusive relationship, the father left the family, possibly ending up in China.

Ivan first learned about his illegal status, a situation over which he had no control, at the age of 15 when he began asking his mother for a drivers' license. Her papers had never been "fixed," and she was deported back to Russia more than a week ago, despite being married to Ivan's stepfather, an American citizen.

Ivan and Allana wanted to marry as soon as possible, but Woolley fears their hopes to build a family here may be shattered before they even get the chance.

She wants the federal government to intervene and halt Nikolov's deportation proceedings. "Secretary Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton should listen to the community and let Ivan fix his papers and stay with his family, here in Michigan," Woolley pleaded.

Woolley also believes Ivan's case is a good example for why immigration reform must happen soon, specifically passage of a bipartisan bill that addresses undocumented immigrant youth pending in Congress now. That bill, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors or DREAM Act, according to the United States Student Association (USSA), an advocacy organization of millions of college students, would ease legalization for tens of thousands of undocumented immigrant youth of college age and allow them access to colleges and universities.

Of this law, USSA President Lindsay McCluskey points out, “Access to higher education is a fundamental right and is being violated by our current education and immigration laws. Passage of the DREAM Act will lead to and strengthen comprehensive immigration reform that will move our country closer to a truly just society.”

According to Ryan Bates of Reform Immigration for America, Michigan, "The DREAM Act would be an important down payment on the commitment that the President and leaders in Congress have made to passing comprehensive immigration reform, and should pass this year."

Echoing this point, Lizbeth Mateo, co-founder of pro-reform DREAM Team L.A., said, “Every day we hear of hard working, talented students like Ivan who are facing deportation, which is why youth-led organizations like Dream Team Los Angeles and many more continue to push for the immediate passage of the DREAM Act."

"We will continue doing our part, but we need Congress to step up and address this issue immediately," she added.

Woolley says, “[Ivan] is the perfect example of why the DREAM Act should be passed – he’s worked hard and wants to contribute to our community. Talented immigrant youth are assets to this country and should be realizing their potential instead of languishing in jails across America.”

"It's cruel," she continues, "to send Ivan to a country he doesn't even know, that he hasn't even seen since he was a child, and to separate him from his family here."

Woolley says Ivan's mother doesn't want him to come to Russia and hopes he will be able to stay with Allana and his stepfather.

Woolley has led the campaign to keep Ivan in Michigan. She rallied friends and neighbors to a vigil at Rep. Sander Levin's office recently. And a number of community leaders and elected officials have joined her cause.

For example, Pastor Charles Williams of King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit and a board member of an African American ministers' group affiliated with People for the American Way, said protecting immigrants from deportation is a basic civil rights issue. “Immigration reform is truly a pressing civil rights issue,” he told reporters on a conference call this week. “I want to express my unwavering support for Ivan and Allana. This is a future family that is being broken up."

"It is very easy to think of immigration as an issue that happens to someone else, someone else's family, someone else's neighborhood," Rev. Williams added, "But this is an issue that affects all groups."

"The United States is full of immigrants," he said. "We built this country together and opened it up for all of us to share in it. We need our leaders to stand up straight and do what is right before it is too late.”

Irene Kepler, a Macomb County Commissioner who represents Ivan's hometown of Roseville, continued the call for reform by saying, “In Roseville, we value our heritage as a nation of immigrants. It's a tragedy that young people like Ivan, who could be part of the next generation of Macomb County's leaders, face an uncertain future. We need to make sure that something as simple as a paperwork error, in this case a mis-filed change of address form, doesn't result in a whole family facing deportation.”

“Ivan embodies the core values of America yet our broken system means he is about to be torn from his family and sent back to what is now a foreign land to him in Russia,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of the immigration reform advocacy group America’s Voice. “His story, along with countless others from hard working students and residents in this country, underscore the need for immediate action by Congress."

Sharry urged full support for Senate Majority Harry Reid's call for passage of the DREAM Act. Woolley said she hopes Reid's efforts are successful when Congress returns in September. "I hope Ivan is one of the least people this has to happen to and that no other kid has to go through this," she said after a deep sigh.