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Los Clandestinos
In May 2008 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made what the Associated Press called the 'largest raid of illegal immigrants in U.S. history,' nabbing close to 400 people at Agriprocessors, Inc., a meat-packing plant in Iowa.
On August 26, not to be outdone, ICE task forces in the "Minutemen" stronghold of Arizona made what is now the record for detentions in a raid according to a Reuters report. The bust, included 595 people (though 160 were latter released) and went down at Howard Industries Inc., a manufacturer of electronics equipment.
This string of record-setting illegal immigrant crackdowns has seen an increase - with just over 4,000 employment-raid arrests last year, that number is expected to be blown out of the water this year. Yet these, and the estimated 250,000 deportations that accrued last year, are just a drop in the bucket for the undocumented aliens, some estimated 10-12 million, who work under-the-table, a.k.a. the informal economy. It is difficult to fathom this number, and the cumulative problems that both Americans and the immigrants and their communities face on a day in and day out play out of national sentiment, foreign necessities of remittances and the clandestine lives they entail. Women are especially hit hard with immigration matters: try having a child in an immigration detention camp, or not being able to report rape for fear of deportation.
Yet whatever chilling and terrifying circumstances that illegals confront: the fact remains that the immigration is still illegal, and nuances about illegals taking or not taking American jobs, respect for the law must be upheld.
Getting sent to the back of the line
On the same day as the largest employment-based illegal immigration raid was transpiring, about 1,000 miles away I received a phone call at my employment-based legal immigration firm. The client, a highly paid professional engineering manager at one of the world's largest software companies is ringing me.
Client: Is there any update on my case?
Me: Actually there is. I hesitate for a moment, shuffling papers and getting the file. I take a deep breath. "This conversation is going to suck", I think to myself.
We will be able to proceed with your case based on an EB3 certification of your Labor form 9089. The EB-3 classification is one requiring a Bachelor's degree, and is a much longer queue for foreign nationals to receive a Green Card.
Client: But I have doctorate, above masters degree and I should therefore qualify for EB-2 classification. EB-3 takes much more time to process. My client's accent concedes frustration and strain as I tell him this news that essentially increases his wait time by some 3 to 4 years.
Me: Unfortunately your job position does not require a masters degree, and according to the law, the position for which you are in must require the graduate degree in order for you to qualify for the high-degree holding professional classification. Regrettably, and I think unfairly, it does not matter what degree you have. I cannot tell him that the classification is based on a one-line sentence his manager gave us, fulfilling our fiduciary responsibility to ascertain necessary and sufficient consent to the classification.
Client: This is definitely not cool. How can you know the position does not require a Masters?
Me: I understand, sir. Your company personnel provided us with data that says that a master's degree for your position is not required. I relay empathy for my clients' disposition, and assure him that we might be able to upgrade the classification later in the process, but it is in his best interests to move forward now.
Working with immigrants, I truly feel blessed to be a U.S. born citizen. I had to go through absolutely none of the hoopla, not one citizenship test, visa or fingerprinting to become American. By virtue of the constitution , not whether I was a contributing member of society or not.
Outdated Policies
We are a nation built, mostly, of immigrants and while these United States have accepted the "huddled masses" for time immemorial, that certainly does not mean that the processes by which we currently constitute immigration and customs control are at best ineffective, at worst unjust. Take for example the political concerns that affect other societies entirely. Both Cuba and Haiti, celebrating "independence from foreign control" on yesterday's new year, represent very different immigration policies.
Cubans who reach American soil without any 'status' are granted amnesty (the wet food, dry foot policy); in contrast Haitians - who come from an island a few hundred miles away, many of whom face similar problems of government oppression and poverty - are deported as rapidly as possible if entering U.S. territory for unlawful presence. While recent legislation has helped some Haitians gain amnesty, the chasm in policy between the two Caribbean countries is still vast. While some of the provisions of difference are justifiable, I have to wonder if downright racial discrimination in the Haitian case and long-held bitterness with Castro in the Cuban were significant factors in the formation of immigration stances with these countries.
In my next and final part of some observations on immigration, I'll address some of the nuances in immigration policies, procedures and positions and touch upon some ways that the immigration process might be improved - to the benefit of citizens and non-citizens alike.
Los Clandestinos
In May 2008 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made what the Associated Press called the 'largest raid of illegal immigrants in U.S. history,' nabbing close to 400 people at Agriprocessors, Inc., a meat-packing plant in Iowa.
On August 26, not to be outdone, ICE task forces in the "Minutemen" stronghold of Arizona made what is now the record for detentions in a raid according to a Reuters report. The bust, included 595 people (though 160 were latter released) and went down at Howard Industries Inc., a manufacturer of electronics equipment.
This string of record-setting illegal immigrant crackdowns has seen an increase - with just over 4,000 employment-raid arrests last year, that number is expected to be blown out of the water this year. Yet these, and the estimated 250,000 deportations that accrued last year, are just a drop in the bucket for the undocumented aliens, some estimated 10-12 million, who work under-the-table, a.k.a. the informal economy. It is difficult to fathom this number, and the cumulative problems that both Americans and the immigrants and their communities face on a day in and day out play out of national sentiment, foreign necessities of remittances and the clandestine lives they entail. Women are especially hit hard with immigration matters: try having a child in an immigration detention camp, or not being able to report rape for fear of deportation.
Yet whatever chilling and terrifying circumstances that illegals confront: the fact remains that the immigration is still illegal, and nuances about illegals taking or not taking American jobs, respect for the law must be upheld.
Getting sent to the back of the line
On the same day as the largest employment-based illegal immigration raid was transpiring, about 1,000 miles away I received a phone call at my employment-based legal immigration firm. The client, a highly paid professional engineering manager at one of the world's largest software companies is ringing me.
Client: Is there any update on my case?
Me: Actually there is. I hesitate for a moment, shuffling papers and getting the file. I take a deep breath. "This conversation is going to suck", I think to myself.
We will be able to proceed with your case based on an EB3 certification of your Labor form 9089. The EB-3 classification is one requiring a Bachelor's degree, and is a much longer queue for foreign nationals to receive a Green Card.
Client: But I have doctorate, above masters degree and I should therefore qualify for EB-2 classification. EB-3 takes much more time to process. My client's accent concedes frustration and strain as I tell him this news that essentially increases his wait time by some 3 to 4 years.
Me: Unfortunately your job position does not require a masters degree, and according to the law, the position for which you are in must require the graduate degree in order for you to qualify for the high-degree holding professional classification. Regrettably, and I think unfairly, it does not matter what degree you have. I cannot tell him that the classification is based on a one-line sentence his manager gave us, fulfilling our fiduciary responsibility to ascertain necessary and sufficient consent to the classification.
Client: This is definitely not cool. How can you know the position does not require a Masters?
Me: I understand, sir. Your company personnel provided us with data that says that a master's degree for your position is not required. I relay empathy for my clients' disposition, and assure him that we might be able to upgrade the classification later in the process, but it is in his best interests to move forward now.
Working with immigrants, I truly feel blessed to be a U.S. born citizen. I had to go through absolutely none of the hoopla, not one citizenship test, visa or fingerprinting to become American. By virtue of the constitution , not whether I was a contributing member of society or not.
Outdated Policies
We are a nation built, mostly, of immigrants and while these United States have accepted the "huddled masses" for time immemorial, that certainly does not mean that the processes by which we currently constitute immigration and customs control are at best ineffective, at worst unjust. Take for example the political concerns that affect other societies entirely. Both Cuba and Haiti, celebrating "independence from foreign control" on yesterday's new year, represent very different immigration policies.
Cubans who reach American soil without any 'status' are granted amnesty (the wet food, dry foot policy); in contrast Haitians - who come from an island a few hundred miles away, many of whom face similar problems of government oppression and poverty - are deported as rapidly as possible if entering U.S. territory for unlawful presence. While recent legislation has helped some Haitians gain amnesty, the chasm in policy between the two Caribbean countries is still vast. While some of the provisions of difference are justifiable, I have to wonder if downright racial discrimination in the Haitian case and long-held bitterness with Castro in the Cuban were significant factors in the formation of immigration stances with these countries.
In my next and final part of some observations on immigration, I'll address some of the nuances in immigration policies, procedures and positions and touch upon some ways that the immigration process might be improved - to the benefit of citizens and non-citizens alike.
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1 comment:
There are so many different levels of immigration, some in the limelight, some behind the scenes, some with more issues than others. Immigration is so tightly woven within other realms which complicate the whole situation... like a cyst, wrapped around different tissues and muscle veins. Immigration, so clear cut by law, becomes so much more complicated in real life.
Anyway... I smiled when reading through the conversation excerpt. Sounds like 80% of my clients. :)
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