The current political climate preys upon America’s fears of the foreign-born. We hear calls for a great wall to stop Mexico from sending people who have lots of problems. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” These are inflammatory statements with no basis in fact. The crime rate among first-generation immigrants is lower than that for native-born Americans.
As an immigration lawyer with more than 38 years’ experience, I cannot agree with the statements, but what’s more — the current U.S. immigration system falls short in many ways.
Jose faces lifetime ban
Foreign-born individuals don’t become “no status” because they want to. Take, for example, Jose. He entered from Mexico in 1992 “without inspection.” He crossed illegally. His wife is a U.S. citizen, and they have three U.S.-born children.
Why doesn’t he get a permanent resident green card? Every year he wintered in Mexico and crossed the border illegally. His unlawful presence and illegal border crossings permanently deny him access to a green card.
The “perm bar” came from the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which makes it inadmissible for “any alien who (I) has been unlawfully present in the United States for an aggregate period of more than 1 year, or (II) has been ordered removed under section 235(b)(1), section 240, or any other provision of law, and who enters or attempts to re-enter the United States without being admitted.”
Jose will never enjoy the same status as his family.
Refugee Mikhail ineligible
Mikhail was a Russian refugee living in Canada. He entered the U.S. after 2001 “without inspection,” married a green card holder and had two children with her. However, he also cannot apply for a green card.
To get the card through your green card spouse requires either legal entry or 245(i) eligibility — certain persons, who have an immigrant visa, but entered without inspection or otherwise violated their status, may apply if they pay a $1,000 penalty. You also must have been beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition or a work authorization filed on or before April 30, 2001.
Hong will always be illegal
Hong came to the U.S. after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in China without papers, with more than 300 other migrants in a boat. He cannot get a creen card, even though then President George H. W. Bush allowed 100,000 Chinese students green cards.
Hong’s method of entry means, despite having been in the U.S. for 25 years without leaving and raising a large family in America, he’ll always be an illegal immigrant.
These men file tax returns, never use government benefits and pay for health care. But under current immigration law, entering “without inspection” makes having a normal life impossible.
President Barack Obama’s November 2014 executive action also does not win my full support: it prioritizes removal targets, resulting in aggressive deportations. Police and customs and border protection officers increasingly stop people simply because of their skin color or ethnicity.
Registered foreign-born Americans are more than 10 percent of the electorate. Perception of persecution in the U.S. has direct effect on the ballot box.
Margaret W. Wong, Esq.,is listed in Top Lawyer and Super Lawyer, is rated AV Preeminent, and is an adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She also serves as a foundation board member of State University of New York at Buffalo, her alma mater, and is co-chair of the Immigration Law Committee of NAPAPA Bar Association. Margaret is the author of “The Immigrant’s Way,” published in three languages, and has authored numerous articles on immigration law. Visit www.imwong.com
