« WWJD | Main | grassroots lunacy »
April 19, 2006
Legal Immigrants Awaiting Deportation
Of the hundreds of immigrants I've known, I only know of two who have been deported.
In one case, her spouse is a U.S. citizen, but I'm not certain of her immigration status.
My other friend, however, is a grandmother in her 60s who was in the U.S. legally. She very dutifully got on a Greyhound and returned to Mexico every six months to comply with her visa and to see her doctors in Mexico.
This year as she was returning to the States, she was turned back at the border because the customs officials didn't believe that she wasn't employed.
The thing is that she never was employed here. She lived with her daughter and helped raise her grandchildren while her daughter worked.
So this devout Christian, grandmother and LEGAL immigrant must now remain outside of the U.S. for 5 years.
All for a "crime" she didn't even commit.
We need immigration reform that will not just be slapped together by a bunch of vote-hungry politicians. There are so many holes in the system that victimize those who have done everything possible to comply with immigration law.
In this video, the CAIR organization interviews legal immigrants awaiting deportation -- including one who is being deported for a choice her mother made when she was 12. It runs about six and a half minutes and is worth watching to the very end.
Posted by almamia at April 19, 2006 12:00 AM