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My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

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Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#91

Post by anigbrowl »

jeffreymcmanus wrote: post #67
shiven wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point at which law becomes a hinderance and not help is when it gets changed or broken. Basically, all you are suggesting is: go find a "citizen" to trap in matrimony in order to be a legal immigrant? The matrimony route is especially relevant, since in the US it is the one of the faster means to obtaining citizenship compared to other methods immigrate legally. Here is the reference: http://reason.com/assets/db/…

One of the fallacies about immigration is that anybody can become a permanent resident by marrying a citizen. This path to permanent residency was basically choked off in the 1980s by requiring that the newlywed couple leave the country for a few years before they're allowed to come back to the US to live, and even then, it's not certain that the government will let it happen. This means that if I happen to fall in l…

You are quote wrong about this. That happens in some circumstances, but it is not the rule. Indeed, a major part of the problem is that the immigration system is wastefully arbitrary and unpredictable.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#92

Post by haberman »

jshen wrote: post #82
haberman wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How is living in limbo for a decade, with literally no single piece of paper identifying you as a human being is "cutting in line?" Because other kids who might have liked to live in the US and go to a top university didn't get to. You got what you wanted faster because your family broke the law. I still believe that children who are brought here illegally should get a lot more leniency because they weren't respons…

You seem to be assuming that something is right because it is the law. I'm inclined to question that assumption. I could also make the usual snarky comment and say that by the letter of the "law" we owe native americans a whole bunch of land. Maybe even the land your house is on.

> You seem to be assuming that something is right because it is the law.

No, I'm assuming that regulating immigration is right because not regulating it has demonstrably bad consequences, for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariel_boatlift

If regulating immigration is right, sidestepping that regulation is wrong, just like driving without a license, running a bank that doesn't keep enough reserves, or building a house that doesn't have safe wiring.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#93

Post by geezer »

reddweb wrote: post #86
nick-dap wrote: post #51

I'm in the same boat. It's been difficult. I cannot express how grateful I am to Jose Vargas for writing this story. I was brought here as a kid 13 years ago. I'm 24 now. I also graduated from a "top" university -- like that matters. I guess my parents weren't smart enough to get a fake social security card for me back then, I wish they were. I've also been fighting for the Dream Act for what feels like an eternity.…

Its simple. Do you implement the LAW ? or let law hijacked by emotions/plight? The legal aliens are idiots?. There are literally billions of people living below poverty line, who will sacrifice everything just to come to America - legally!!! Hardships, emotions and empathy has no place when you take into account 300 million citizens who are legally bound to support the system (tax, servcies, public shcools, hopsitals…

If law is unjust, you change the law. It has happened in American plenty of times. Hell, America was founded in part because an unjust law was imposed on us.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#94

Post by lutorm »

kelnos wrote: post #89
lutorm wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree it seems heartless to not grant kids like this guy residency. The problem I have with this is that that would just make the moral hazard stronger. Parents already smuggle their kids into the US to give them a better life. If they knew that these kids would then be eligible for legalization, it's hard to see how even more people wouldn't try. I'm not a Minuteman and I'm not going to argue for any border fences…

Or do the opposite: make it so easy to immigrate legally that few want or need to do it illegally.

Well, that's true. But it's hard to see how that would not be very disruptive.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#95

Post by iandanforth »

trustfundbaby wrote: post #6

Properly formatted link http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-und... The guy came out as gay but wouldn't let people know he wasn't a citizen ... that's deep.

I remember when he came out as gay I thought he was brave. Apparently I didn't know the half of it. (I was a year ahead at MVHS)

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#96

Post by fastfinner »

starwed wrote: post #73
fastfinner wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EXACTLY!!! There are so many people who are trying to come and contribute to the US society through legal means. They run into all kinds of obstacles and barriers. Meanwhile it's OK to get a citizenship through fake passports?

I just find it weird that everyone regards becoming a citizen by birth as so much fairer than becoming a citizen by sneaking in.

Oh on a philosophical level it is quite unfair. It's not fair at all that all humans are not regarded as equals. It's really unfair that I should be withheld from visiting or living on a piece of the planet because there happens the be a group of people on it that made a "nation" and the "nation" has invisible "borders" and the "borders" are by "law" not penetrable by people from my "nation".

But such is the case. If Jose or anyone else wants to change this inherent unfairness they can do that.

Meanwhile, though, I have no sympathy for people who are trying to shortcut the established processes. The "hope for a better life" just doesn't justify bypassing all the other people that wait in line. It is extremely unfair to the people who are also trying to immigrate to the US, but do so by entering lotteries, applying for GCs and all.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#97

Post by anigbrowl »

tokenadult wrote: post #44
haberman wrote: post #28

I have no beef with this guy who was basically forced into breaking the law before he could have responsibility for his actions. But overall I just feel that the compassion about immigration is misplaced. I don't understand why all the pro-immigration people say "look at these poor undocumented immigrants -- we should make life better for them." I think the people we should have compassion for are the people who are…

Spouse of first-generation immigrant to the United States here. And back in the 1990s I used to be an immigration lawyer for a small law firm on the west coast. Yes, the personal story of Jose Antonio Vargas is rough on him personally, but a better basis for setting the policy of immigration in the United States would be the stories of the many people who patiently wait in line to be admitted to the United States thr…

The US does have a high rate of immigration, but on the other hand it's underpopulated compared to other developed countries. The biggest reason to loosen restrictions on immigration IMO is that without doing so the US is going to have difficulty with the payouts for social security and so forth as more baby boomers retire and there are fewer new entrants to the workforce. This is a medium-term problem (~20 years), left undone then it will be much more expensive to handle by the time it becomes acute, as countries in central and south America are more like to exhibit a labor shortage than surplus and will be competing with the US for the same labor pool.

http://www.ssab.gov/documents/IMMIG_Issue_Brief_Final_Versio...

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#98

Post by BadassFractal »

Aloisius wrote: post #88

How difficult is it really to have a green card wedding? The only knowledge I have of it is from TV, but surely in a country where a good chunk of the population doesn't take marriage seriously, finding someone to marry you for citizenship wouldn't be difficult. You could even build a startup out of it... USMailOrderSpouses.com.

I know you were being facetious, but they actually do a considerable background check when you marry a foreigner to ensure it's not a green card wedding. I think it's a felony if you stage it.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#99

Post by potatolicious »

phillmv wrote: post #10
Shenglong wrote: post #3

Even if I weren't open to letting educated members of society earn a legal green card, I think this would've changed my mind. The inability to obtain US citizenship even though I was attending a consecutively #1 rated program on the continent, at one of the best schools in the country really dimmed my own hopes. I remember wanting to apply for an internship at MIT Lincoln labs for anti-ballistic missile defense, and…

Have you tried Canada? We're kind of like the US, but better.

To expand on the point: skilled immigrants in Canada gain permanent residency (aka the equivalent of the green card) immediately upon entry. You can work for anyone, in any field, without restriction. You have health care, education, and all of the benefits of anyone else except the vote.

And that only takes three years of continuous residency.

Compare with the US: must make the H-1B quota, wait years, apply for Green card, wait even more years (EB-3 is what, 6-7 years at this point?), then get your green card. The entire time you're an indentured slave to your employer who can take advantage of you every which way knowing you're locked in. Barbaric.

Re: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

#100

Post by sdrinf »

Aloisius wrote: post #88

How difficult is it really to have a green card wedding? The only knowledge I have of it is from TV, but surely in a country where a good chunk of the population doesn't take marriage seriously, finding someone to marry you for citizenship wouldn't be difficult. You could even build a startup out of it... USMailOrderSpouses.com.

Might wanna have a look at the list of questions asked during a marriage fraud interview here:

http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/familybasedimmigration/mar...

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