A Legal Immigrant Points Out Obama's Amnesty Injustice
There's a right way and a wrong way to immigrate to the United States
I am Hispanic, and graduated with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Arkansas in 2007. In 2011 I became a legal permanent resident of the United States through a National Interest Waiver petition based on my work in nanotechnology, advanced degree and track record. I did not have the sponsorship of any work, organization or family. I did NOT qualify for any sort of work permit on the basis of being enrolled or graduated from college ALONE.
I find it extremely disheartening that this administration and those advocates of so-called immigration reform continue to put the cart before the horse and reward illegal behavior and grant them benefits before those LEGAL immigrants that have taken the time and effort to get employer sponsorship for a work visa or residence, or build a track record to apply for permanent residence on their own merits. What message is this sending to those that are in the process of becoming legal residents? or pursuing jobs here in the U.S. legally? Why would employers bother to go through 'labor certification' when illegal aliens with work authorization can take the job without the need for the employer to spend money on fees or forms?
Today's decision sends the message to those pursuing work here legally and to those wanting to come from abroad legally that they are going to be passed over in favor of individuals that have not taken steps to follow the law or to mitigate the system other than to demand their rights. And while the answer is not deportation or jail, one has to wonder, if the cost of jailing or deporting illegal aliens is prohibitive, what is going to be the cost of having these individuals to file their paperwork? There is a finite number of immigration workers who are already looking at cases of legal and illegal immigrants (with priority given to illegal aliens in the process of deportation). So, wouldn't granting these illegal aliens work permits (which is a physical document that will require photograph and fingerprints taken - like a driver's license) add an extra burden on the system, immigration workers, and LEGAL immigrants that will have their legitimate cases further delayed in favor of these illegal aliens that will have their processes expedited?
There is a solution, but it is not this, as from the very mouths of these illegal alien students they have said that they will not stop until they get nothing less than U.S. citizenship. The least that could be done is ask this illegal alien students to hold themselves up to the same standard that legal immigrants are subject to. Ask any employer if they are willing to hire anybody that does not have work authorization, and ask any LEGAL immigrant how HARD it is to get work authorization.
This is an absolute outrage and only the first step that will encourage these illegal aliens to pursue nothing less than U.S. citizenship and to push U.S. citizens and LEGAL immigrants out of jobs here in the US.
Sincerely,
Jose Fernando Aldana, Ph.D.
Fayetteville
posted by Mark Moore (Moderator) at Tuesday, June 19, 2012
7 Comments:
First of all, you may be a doctor and all but you have some grammar errors.
Worry about yourself and leave others alone. No one is going to take your job. As a matter of fact nobody takes anybody else's job. If one is lazy, and is always complaining about a task...etc. Yes, you will lose your job because some "illegal alien" (as some idiots like to call these people) will take your job because they will do what you won't without complaining. People are lazy!! Most people just want to sit at home eating, playing video games, or killing time on Facebook. Immigrants are looking for any little chance to change their lives. They work in the fields, in restaurants, in factories, and the list is endless. The pay and treatment received is horrible yet they keep working. Did you ever think about how the fruits and vegetables you eat got to your table? No, right? Why don't I see any citizens applying for jobs that require a lot of work and little pay? Why? Instead, I see a lot of American citizens apply for welfare. The average person on welfare is a white single mother. What a surprise!!! And everytime I go to the mall or drive around Miami or any large city all I see is American citizens begging for money while holding a sign that reads, " I lost my job please help". You never see a Hispanic doing such embarrassing act. They will rather work in the fields under the hot sun and make 60 dollars a day. When I see these lazy people begging for money, I give them my dads business card and offer them a job picking oranges. They never call!! So, there you go! People who are hard workers will work hard for what they want with or without a piece of paper that identifies their legal status. Lazy people will be lazy and continue eating hamburgers from the dollar menu and posting their every lazy action on Facebook and becoming more ignorant thinking that they can't get a job because the illegal aliens are here to take it before they can even apply. So don't you worry Jose, for an immigrant to take your job it will take years of hard work and intelligence. Well, ....Maybe you should be intimidated because these illegals are risk takers and have a lot of determination and brains. Otherwise they would've never left their wonderful countries to come to this country where all you think about is paying bills and more bills. I was going to say I was proud of your achievement as a Hispanic and an ex - illegal but I changed my mind because you are afraid and in doubt about your success and job security in this country of opportunity. There are no limits for the individual who wants success. Success is followed by more success. And no HUMAN IS ILLEGAL!!! The universe is immense yet God put us all in the same planet for a reason but we are too stupid to understand why and we create all sorts of boundaries and rules that just divide us and create conflict amongst us for no damn reason!
Oh and not everyone has the opportunity you had. Not everyone can do things right and follow every rule. If rules were never broken many people would have no jobs. Also, if some of these immigrants had waited to do things right their families would've starved to death. America would not be what it once was if risk takers wouldn't have migrated to this country many years ago. This country is full of ex-illegals. No one belongs here except for the native Indians yet we are all here thinking we are entitled to this country!!!!! If people want to migrate here, it is because their corrupt leaders won't do anything in their countries to create jobs and make them want to stay. Trust me, a lot of these immigrants want to go back home one day. If everyone had been given the chance to do things right NO ONE would be risking their lives to cross the border. People think it is easy to get a visa to come here but it is not and that's the reason that they don't understand why these people have to migrate illegally. So don't be silly and stop thinking that everyone can do what you did. The people that do things the right way is rather because they have money or they have a good education or because they have connections over here. I know all this because I have family members that did things the way they were supposed to. It takes a long time to get approved for a visa. For one of my family members it took 4 years and when he got the visa he had been dead for two weeks and he never got to see his sons and grandchildren. So for many it's just easier and faster to pay a coyote to smuggle them into the states. This is life. Hard for some easy for others. And if the president wants to help these people let it be. More than likely he's just saying this to win the Latino vote. Or maybe he realized that these people have worked so hard for this country with nothing in return and he wants to recognize them by letting them become illegal aliens of this planet. It is so sad to know that a lot of immigrants who have been here for years are just waiting for the day when they will get the card that reads that they are now, "permanent resident aliens", as if they came from outer space. So if Obama has decided to recognize these people with this title, let him. It's about time!!! Jose, you went to school and work hard and had many restless nights studying hard to get your phd,right??? What if your college had decided not to give you your deserved recognition just because you were different or because you didn't follow the rules that everyone else did? It doesn't matter how you do things, what matters is that you did them!!!
Anonymous, at least the guy that wrote the article had the guts to post his real name, and not troll under the blanket of anonymity.
He may have grammar errors, but: 1. His Ph.D. is NOT in English and 2. He didn't have the benefit of 'coming to the U.S. at a young age, and the U.S. being the only country (he has) known'.
Do you know about 'labor certification' and the process that a U.S. employer needs to fulfill to hire a foreign worker? Check job listings and look toward the bottom of the listing 'Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. for ANY employer without the need for an employer sponsor'.
Yes, they ARE illegal aliens, it's NOT racist. Please don't say that YOU are one of those 'undocumented', 'drop the i-word' types...
You say that immigrants 'work in the fields, in restaurants, in factories, and the list is endless'. So my question is: 'why do you need a college degree for that? (as DREAMers have yelled and shouted all this time?)
You say to the guy that wrote the article: 'Maybe you should be intimidated because these illegals are risk takers and have a lot of determination and brains'. Unless he's going to pursue a degree in sociology, social work or latin american studies, I think he's safe. I mean we'll SURELY beat China and Europe by 'understanding' them better.
I'll just finish by saying three things:
1. God DID create the universe AND set boundaries to it. For example read: Proverbs 8:29
2. 'No human being is illegal' Yes, beautiful saying by Elie Wiesel, do you know the context in which it is framed?
3. your tone sounds familiar, you wouldn't be Rafael Arciga-Garcia or Jonathan Chavez, would you? I mean, you had to have some connection to Arkansas to know about this blog?
And what do you think happens to legal immigrants or even U.S. citizens when they lose their jobs. After being unemployed for a long time, don't they lose their homes, car, even the right to stay in this country legally?
You say: 'Also, if some of these immigrants had waited to do things right their families would've starved to death' So what would you say to the relatives of Filipino and Mexican individuals that wait OUTSIDE the U.S. since 1992/95 for their residence applications to be approved? I think they're doing the 'right' thing, and I don't see them parading around with silly signs and caps and gowns 'demanding' their 'rights'.
Believe it or not, risk taking has a price. The U.S. asks someone that wants to come here and 'take a risk' starting a business for 500k dollars TO START WITH. In addition, other requirements have to be met in order to gain entry into this country, like creating jobs with said business for AMERICAN citizens. Again, this is just a 'tad' more than 'taking a risk'.
You say: 'No one belongs here except for the native Indians yet we are all here thinking we are entitled to this country!!!!'
1. Since you're so set on splitting hairs over the 'proper' terms to use ('undocumented' vs. illegal), I'll have you know that the 'proper' term is NATIVE AMERICAN vs. 'Indian'
2. You do know that 'Indians' were not a single monolithic entity. There was tribalism and wars between factions. Many did not think twice about sacrificing or enslaving men/women from rival tribes.
You say: 'If everyone had been given the chance to do things right NO ONE would be risking their lives to cross the border'. EVERYBODY has the chance to do things right. Immigration law is cumbersome and expensive. From what I hear, the going rate for a 'coyote' is MUCH higher than the fees you have to pay USCIS.
You say: 'People think it is easy to get a visa to come here but it is not and that's the reason that they don't understand why these people have to migrate illegally'. Well, from what I've seen/read, a lot of DREAMers, came on temporary visas with their parents, which they then overstayed. So if anything, getting a visa in the past was easy, but because of the ILLEGAL behavior of the parents of DREAMers, now the U.S. gov't is trying to close the loophole and makes it more difficult to obtain a visa, as you correctly stated. So who's fault is it again?
You say: 'So don't be silly and stop thinking that everyone can do what you did.' I think you have enough 'silly' for the both of us. I think that everyone CAN do what I (and many others) did, I just worry that they put up excuses and CHOOSE not to do it...
You say: 'The people that do things the right way is rather because they have money or they have a good education or because they have connections over here'. Again, I come from a middle class family, with NO connections and a decent education, nothing special, I got the Ph.D. AFTER earning a merit based scholarship to be let in to the U.S. As you rightly say 'easy for some, harder for others', so what's to keep one of these 'bright' students from getting on the phone or computer to contact an employer or a college to help them. I mean, that's a bit less strenous than 'risking life and limb' to cross the border. I mean 'risk takers' should think about these 'minimal risk' possibilities, right?
You say: 'What if your college had decided not to give you your deserved recognition just because you were different or because you didn't follow the rules that everyone else did? It doesn't matter how you do things, what matters is that you did them!!'
I would say shame on the college for taking my money while knowing my ILLEGAL status. I only 'deserve' as much as I earn. This is not a witch hunt or the Jim Crow south as you pro-illegal crowd want to make it seem. The end does NOT justify the means. Ask any LEGAL foreign student (and not just from Latin America) about all the restricitions on hours and places they can work to maintain their LEGAL status in the U.S. Do your research, contact ISS at the U of A.
Nice talking to you Rafael/Jonathan
oh, and one last thing: Cut down on the exclamation points and question marks. Writing strings of them makes you sound angry and rabid.
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