Ann Arbor man part of sit-in protest at Sen. John McCain's Tucson office

Problem is, the Abdollahis didn't have their immigration paperwork in order - and Mohammad still doesn't.

As much as Abdollahi feels like an American, being an undocumented resident has severely limited his employment and educational options.

Mohammad and three other undocumented students took their protest to the Tucson office of Sen. John McCain today to stage a sit-in in favor of the Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would provide longtime resident aliens like Abdollahi with a path to American citizenship.

A story on The Michigan Messenger's website explains: "Abdollahi is staging a sit-in with three other undocumented youth in an attempt to focus attention on federal legislation called the DREAM Act...The protest is taking place at the Tucson, Ariz. offices of Republican Sen. John McCain, a former GOP presidential candidate."

The senator angered many former supporters by coming out in support of Arizona's recently-passed immigration law, the goal of which is to "identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants," according to the New York Times. Arizona's immigration law was signed in late April.

McCain, who was the GOP's presidential candidate in 2008, is in a fight for his political life in a primary race against J.D. Hayworth, a former Republican congressman.

Judging by Mohammad's Twitter feed (@midreamact), he and the fellow protestors were inside McCain's Tucson office as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.

A spokesman at McCain's Washington office said "(the protestors) have the right to peacefully protest," but would not say how long the senator's office would abide the civil disobedience.

James Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.