Immigration has become a heated topic these days. Most of the concerns have to do with the “illegals” or what I prefer to call the “undocumented” people living in the United States. And let’s be honest, we are talking here about the numbers of immigrants who have come from Mexico and countries in Central and South America across our southern border.
The tremendous influx of people who do not have status has created a tremendous burden on the southern border states: California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Although they are not eligible for Medicaid or any type of public assistance, undocumented immigrants can send their children to school and they can be treated in hospital emergency rooms. It is no wonder that states like Arizona are crying out for some help, albeit in the form of misguided and unconstitutional legislation that will itself ultimately bankrupt the state. If you think that educating and treating undocumented immigrants is costly, just wait for the final bill on trying to deport 12 million people from the U.S. To put it mildly, this is another huge waste of taxpayer dollars.
So, why do people ask “what is it about “illegal” that we don’t understand?” If you ask them, they just want the “illegal” word to go away. In other words, make the “illegals” legal. And yes, most people do favor a path to make the undocumented “legal” if we first secure our borders.
Here is where it gets tricky. Many, if not most, of the proposed solutions to this broken system of ours require the “illegals” to go home first, and then apply to return to the U.S. legally. However, as the law stands now, if a person who has been here illegally for over one year voluntarily leaves the U.S., they are barred from applying to come back for 10 YEARS unless they obtain special permission (a waiver) to come back sooner. Waivers are only granted in certain circumstances. The bar is only three years if the period of unlawful presence is less than one year but more than 180 days. To avoid these 3-year or 10-year bars, then, the immigrant must remain in the United States.
In order for someone to gain lawful status without having to leave the U.S., he or she must prove that they entered the U.S. legally in the first place. There used to be a provision of the law that allowed an undocumented applicant to apply for permanent residence from within the U.S. if they paid a fine. That law(commonly referred to as “245(i)” or the LIFE Act), expired on April 30, 2001. (Ironically, Congress was to vote on an extension of that law on the morning of September 11, 2001.)
Since June 1, 2001, because leaving the United States would mean , in most cases, that a person would be barred from coming back for 10 years, most of the undocumented have chosen to stay here, keeping their families together, rather than being separated for 10 years to become “legal.” Who among us would choose to leave our husbands, wives and children for ten years?
This is the plight of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., stuck in a state of limbo, living in the shadows, fearing that they will at any time be arrested and sent away from their families. Comprehensive immigration reform is a complex matter involving numerous aspects of the immigration laws. One part of the solution to fixing our broken immigration system must include the elimination of these 3 and 10-year bars. If we are going to require that immigrants return home before they become “legal” this law must be repealed. It is the reason that we have so many who have stayed, afraid to return home.
The “illegals” don’t want to be “illegal”. They live here, they work here, and yes, they do contribute financially (another topic for discussion). They love the United States and the opportunities here, yet they still have strong ties to their home countries. If we make it easier for them to go back and forth, we will all be better off. Future inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, teachers and physicians are growing up right now in our midst. If we do not make them “legal” it will be everyone’s loss.
