LatinaLista — Today, the United States government announced plans to change the rules when it comes to Green Cards.
Last month, the government issued a new policy regarding a change in asylum rules.
With all these rule changes, the government feels it will deter anyone from wanting to make the United States their final destination.
Yet by changing the rules, without regard to the human element, the government is achieving the one thing they don’t want — resistance.
These changes, combined with the crackdown in deporting and detaining illegally arrived immigrants, have a strong impact on immigrant families and the destruction of the family unit.
For the government to think that by enacting such policies that it will curb illegal immigration or asylum seekers, is short-sighted and unrealistic.
There are stories every day proving this assumption wrong.
In Dallas, a 25-year-old mother, six months pregnant, was deported to her native Honduras. She was forced to leave behind her husband, who had his proper paperwork, and their 9-month-old son.
She had been ordered to report for deportation back in 2002. She didn’t and when she was caught enjoying some quality couple time with her husband this fall, she was apprehended and deported.
Now critics will say that she got what she deserved. But to deport a woman, who is 6 months pregnant, to a country that she no longer has a connection to, separating her from her infant son and husband in the process — that’s not justice on any level.
So, she did what every mother would do. She made her way back to the United States again — she was caught in Arizona and deported. Chances are she will try again until she can no longer travel because of her pregnancy.
The new changes in the Green Card requirements and asylum rules have the potential to separate families equally as well as the deportation crackdowns.
Changes in the Green Card requirements can literally make a member of a family out of compliance with the law from one day to the next. Where does that leave the rest of the family?
The changes in the asylum rules now enable the government to keep asylum seekers jailed longer while their cases are being processed. Since it’s standard practice to separate family members when they are in asylum proceedings, it means children are traumatized longer when separated from one parent or both. Parents, likewise, are traumatized.
As the young mother’s actions exemplified, no governmental public policy, miles of desert no-man’s land or being deported hundreds of miles away will deter a parent from reuniting with their children in the country that offers the most hope and promise for a safe and prosperous future.
Changing policy rules and enforcing a stricter crackdown on apprehending and deporting people doesn’t work when families are separated.
It only provides a false facade that public policies are working — but maybe that’s the real intent.
Comment(8)
Horace
“In Dallas, a 25-year-old mother, six months pregnant, was deported to her native Honduras. She was forced to leave behind her husband, who had his proper paperwork, and their 9-month-old son.
She had been ordered to report for deportation back in 2002. She didn’t and when she was caught enjoying some quality couple time with her husband this fall, she was apprehended and deported.
Now critics will say that she got what she deserved. But to deport a woman, who is 6 months pregnant, to a country that she no longer has a connection to, separating her from her infant son and husband in the process — that’s not justice on any level.”
Terrible of the government to impregnate the woman five years after she became deportable. Must’ve been a federal civil servant, as we know that the husband couldn’t do such a thing. Gee, this possibility wasn’t foreseeable five years ago? And the government is preventing the husband from following her? I hope you never have children, Marisa, because they’d never learn personal responsibility from you.
yave begnet
That AP article was very confusing–I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the new policy is actually doing. Perhaps the author didn’t understand the changes either, or perhaps the editor helpfully excised the explanatory parts for the sake of brevity.
It sure seems as though immigration is part of the Bush administration’s plan to push through as many administrative and regulatory changes underneath the radar before the end of his tenure. I don’t know what happened to the Bush brand of inclusiveness and attempts to appeal to Latin@ voters–it’s been awhile since I heard any restrictionists complaining about Bush, which is a good indication he has flip flopped completely on the issue.
The green card renewals will be a financial burden on many permanent residents who’ve not had the means or wherewithal to naturalize. It costs $370 just to renew it, not including any fees paid for help to prepare the forms. With a bare 120 day window to renew, nonprofits will likely be overwhelmed and unable to meet the demand for services. Even the most basic forms like this one can be rejected if not filled out correctly or if the necessary supporting documentation is not submitted, and refunds are extremely rare.
The asylum changes seem calculated to bump up deportation numbers to placate the GOP base and deter asylum-seekers, and are further evidence of U.S. noncompliance with its treaty obligations. If implemented, they’ll be one more reason why Canada no longer views the U.S. as a safe third country for asylum seekers.
Frank
Another bleeding heart story without holding the illegal alien accountable for their own actions. Unbelievable!
Frank
Illegal aliens shouldn’t be allowed to use their U.S. born kids as leverage to stay in this country. Here is a woman who has a 9 month old and is 6 months pregnant with another one. Sounds like this woman is totally irresponsible.
EYES OF TEXAS
If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. As this baby factory continues to pump out more “ANCHORS”, her situation will only worsen and her continued attempts to return to the US may one day end in tragedy. Then you will have another sob story and another reason to place blame on our laws and regulations for proper entry into the country. Needless to say, all the hardships can be blamed on those that choose to ignore borders and laws.
Horace
“The green card renewals will be a financial burden on many permanent residents who’ve not had the means or wherewithal to naturalize. It costs $370 just to renew it, not including any fees paid for help to prepare the forms. With a bare 120 day window to renew, nonprofits will likely be overwhelmed and unable to meet the demand for services. Even the most basic forms like this one can be rejected if not filled out correctly or if the necessary supporting documentation is not submitted, and refunds are extremely rare.”
Says you, yave. Green cards are only renewed every 10-years. I find it difficult that legal residents can’t save $37.00 per year for that purpose. Have you ever bothered to check out the complexity of the renewal form? You either haven’t done your homework, or you’re just exaggerating the difficulties to promote a sympathetic position for immigrants. Actually, the paperwork is very simple. My wife, an immigrant from Korea has done it for her mother, and she stated that she has had no difficulties.
yave begnet
How can immigrants start saving $37/year when USCIS just announced this proposal a few months ago and plans to give them only 120 days to renew the cards? Predictability is not a characteristic for which the immigration system is well known.
This is a way to bump up deport numbers to placate restrictionists, plain and simple. I fail to see how deporting someone charged with a misdemeanor 20 years ago enhances national security.
The limits within which immigrants can remain “legal” are getting smaller and smaller. People say they have no problem with legal immigration but then make complying with the laws more and more difficult.
Publius
Yave: “This is a way to bump up deport numbers to placate restrictionists, plain and simple.”
Not so plain, not so simple. Such a statement is without foundation. Will you eat your words if your conjecture fails to be supported by deportation statistics? Without any facts in hand you’ve rationalized that USCIS is devioulsly plotting on behalf of those nasty old restrictionists. I suggest that you check with your physician for possible onset of premature paranoid dementia.
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