Artifact Three: Immigration and Legalization

Being an illegal immigrant is really scary and hard to do in the U.S., there are so many laws and preventatives that cause these immigrants to be discovered and deported. No immigrant wants to live their whole life in "the shadows" as Reyna's father liked to call it. Immigrants without papers have to find jobs that pays under-the-table, with no social security number required, and every legitimate job in the U.S. requires a social security number. They have to be very careful when driving because if they're pulled over and don't have an ID, they will be in trouble with the law. It's extremely tedious get an education passed high school if you don't have at least a permanent resident card. Of course there are many more situations an immigrant has to avoid, but if they were citizens, they wouldn't have to live in fear.

Actions are Illegal, Never People is a TEDx talk by an immigrant from the Philippines named Jose Antonio Vargas, sharing his story as well as speaking out for others like him. He sends an important message of understanding towards immigrants who seek citizenship as well as squashing common stereotypes and misconceptions. I have to say this is the most brilliant TED talk I have watched, it's filled with humor and complete truth and I'm pretty sure I could watch it to the point of memorizing it. In the talk Jose shared the top questions he is asked: "So you're not Mexican?"; "Why don't you just make yourself legal"; "Do you think your so special that you can break any law you want?"; and "What part of illegal, don't you understand?" To each of these questions Jose answers with honesty, explanation and supports his answers with proof.

When Reyna first came to El Otro Lado, illegally, she was told to keep very quiet about her situation, her father told her it was all to easy to be deported back to Mexico and ruin the potential life they had here. Reyna's family went through the process of procuring a green card, in the memoir Reyna explains how her father spent a fortune on applying for their green cards. The average cost for a immigration lawyer is between five thousand and seventy-five hundred, thats for one person. For a whole family, fees are usually a large amount more, closer to fifteen thousand. Immigrants are more likely to become broke before they reach citizenship or permanent residence. Reyna's family applied for green cards though her step mother, Mila, a citizen. Reyna and her family got their permanent resident cards through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, 2.9 million other immigrants took a part in this too. From the time the Grande children arrived in the U.S. to when they got their green cards was a year, compared to others this was really short. The average time it takes to gain a green card is about four years, the whole time applicants have no idea what stage the process is in, or if it's still being processed at all. 

The boat my mother took to the U.S.

My mother had to go though a similar process when she immigrated from the Netherlands to the Untied States when she was two. My Opa's (grandfather) job with a tobacco company gave him a choice between Brazil, South Africa, and America. My Oma (grandmother) would not live in South Africa or Brazil, the U.S. seemed like the best option. They settled down in Connecticut, wanting to be close to my Opa's brother's family in Canada. Unlike most immigrants, Reyna and Jose included, my mother's family was lucky enough to gain permanent resident cards from my Opa's company before they took the boat over here. But the road din't stop there, on the day President Obama was first inaugurated in January of 2009, my mom applied for U.S. citizenship. It wasn't until September of '09 when everything went though and my mom became the first and only in her family to gain citizenship.

My mother's green card picture.

The other day my mom was telling me about something she heard on NPR, a sort of permit allowing immigrants to stay in America for two years. I looked it up, and found that in June of 2012 the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was passed, allowing individuals who came to the United States as children can apply to gain a two year permit to live in the U.S.. Think permanent residency card (green card) but more like a temporary residency card. This is a great opportunity for immigrants but it has some drawbacks. If one of these individuals wanted to get a four-year college education, they couldn't because DACA only covers two years.  You have to have come to the U.S. before the age of sixteen. It is relatively pretty expensive and you might not qualify. Also, DACA has been active for two years and still many immigrants are not applying because they won't put their names on anything in fear of being deported. But in the grand scheme of things, this is a step toward an immigration reform.
After knowing how hard it is to become a legal citizen, even just a permanent resident, I am extremely grateful to have been born in the United States. It's very humbling, reading these articles as well as The Distance Between Us. I appreciate the situation I'm in, and I've learned not to take anything for granted.

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The TEDx talk by Jose Antonio Vargas: