Three years ago this week, Raul was approved as a permanent resident of the United States. It was a proud moment for us, the culmination of months of work, traveling, gathering paperwork, stressing out, meeting deadlines, getting more paperwork from our respective home countries, paying, lots of money, shedding lots of tears, doing lots of praying...and did I mention the paperwork?
Though it was a hard process, it brought us closer together and made us appreciate being able to finally go to the US so much more. For those that do immigrate the right way, that's the way it should be.
Coincidentally, this anniversary for us occurs the same week there's more talk about immigration issues and the Supreme Court's decision on Arizona's immigration laws. Though I admit that I don't know everything about the laws they are trying to impose, I do know that they believe in what they're doing and they believe it is what is fair and just. As for the "racial profiling", if you have nothing to hide with regards to your immigration status, what's the problem? I have a hard time reading articles and seeing things on the news about illegals who are now afraid to go out of their house or drive down the street for fear of being stopped and asked about their papers. Forgive me if I don't want to throw you a pity party for something you did that is illegal to begin with. As for the children of the illegal immigrants who are now, basically, being pardoned, they should be putting the pressure on their parents to make things right, not expecting the government, or anyone else for that matter, to pity them.
I'm sick of it. I'm not writing this intending to start a fight on my blog. I just really felt that I needed to put out there how I'm feeling. I'm entitled to my opinion, and when it personally affects me and my family, I feel I should throw in my two cents for anyone who might be interested in hearing how this affects the legal immigrants and their families. I also know that we are most definitely not the only ones frustrated by all this. When we had to go through Raul's visa renewal process last fall and winter, I had so many people voicing their frustration over this issue when they saw how hard we worked to do it the right way. It was hard, just about as hard as the first time around three years ago. But we did it. And we did it the right way.
1 comment:
You know I agree with you, girl. After spending 5 years in Florida (working in H.R., no less) and the subsequent years in Texas, I've seen my fair share of illegal immigration. While I can sympathize with anyone who has a strong work ethic and just wants to provide for their families, I cannot sympathize with anyone who tries to do so illegally. These illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from U.S. Citizens and legal green card-carrying immigrants who are desperate for ANY ethical job, regardless of the type or hours. I'm sick of hearing people say, "Well we HAVE to hire under the table 'cause Americans won't do the work." That's a load of crap. They hire illegals because they don't want to declare them and pay them equal wages or provide healthcare for their hours, etc.
*steaming* Yeah, I have my own set of issues about this.
Post a Comment