My First Real Rant
Saturday, July 7, 2007

Today, while reading comments in a thread about Peggy Noonan's helpfulness to little brown people, I stumbled upon this little gem:

"I am a lifelong Democrat who is sick and tired of people trying to make
me feel that I OWE illegals something because their ILLEGAl presence should make me feel SOOOOOOOOOO fortunate that I am an American.

YOU want illegals here, YOU pay for them. Sponsor a family, smartass, and see where you end up. I no longer give to food banks, churches, fund drives that help illegals. I now spend my money on my relatives, especiallly the young families, by buying them groceries. I think God will smile on my 10% tithe going to my family.

If Americans wise up, we can make it VERY hard for illegals to drain our medical, social, and moral resources."

Wow. Just . . . wow.

I responded with a comment, but the comment box was simply too short for me to speak my piece. So here's everything I wanted to say:

Dear Jan -- Are you native american? If not, where did your family come from, and when?

My great-great-grandfather immigrated from Sweden in the 1800s, and when he got here, he was helped by a number of government, church, and social programs -- not the least of which was the Homestead Act of 1862, without which, he would never have been able to own property upon which to farm.

He didn't speak English when he arrived. He barely spoke English when he died. Also true of my great-grandfather, but he was born here, so no prob, eh?

US Naturalization had no English requirement until 1906, and the length of residency required was 5 years -- for everyone. No one had to get a "green card" to establish this residency in the US at the time he arrived.

Language barriers are the primary reason given, by people who otherwise qualify for citizenship, when asked why they don't apply. (There are exceptions to this requirement for those over 50, or who are deaf or other-wise disabled).

I'm guessing you were born here. In which case, you didn't have to file (and pay) for a green card, wade through piles of forms and waiting periods, or actually take an oath to "uphold the Constitution" (which immigrants are required to do), in order to enjoy the rights of US citizenship.

Cost for a green card triples at the end of this month, to $930.00 USD -- cost for citizenship application nearly doubles -- to $595.00 USD on July 30, 2007.

So, if you've ever gotten all weepy at the statue of liberty, while reading: "Give me your tired, your poor . . . " and thought of your own ancestors, you might want to re-think your definition of "illegals".

When we make legal citizenship so expensive, so arbitrary, and so difficult for those who want to come to this county, it's no small wonder that there are so many "illegals" (as you call them).

Cost of filing for citizenship (please note: this doesn't assure you of citizenship) -- $1,525.00 as of July 30, 2007, once you add up the required green card and citizenship applications. Plus the cost of finger-printing, etc.. -- Oh, and you get to pay $19.95 just to download the application online. And the study guide for the Citizenship test is $59.95. (Unless you're really persistent, and look beyond the initial Google result -- past the commercial venture that is making money off this, and can wade through all the links to find the "free" form at the actual government site.) But hey, you can get them both together for just $79.95!

Average time to process a naturalization request -- 2 years (after you have fulfilled the 5 year residency requirement -- just 3 year residency requirement if you've married a US citizen ! What a deal!). Oh . . . unless you're unlucky and have the wrong name, in which case, it might be 5 years after you apply for naturalization.

So, I fear that I'm going to "make you" even more sick and tired, Jan, by suggesting that you are, indeed, very fortunate to have been born here. I don't think that you "owe" anyone anything (unless you agreed to incur the debt). I do think that, if your ancestors benefited from an open immigration process, and a concept of equality for all in that process, and if you, and your family, have benefited from these processes, that your expressed attitudes are rather hypocritical.

You have been automatically endowed, by virtue of the location of your birth, and the nationality of your parents, rights that other people have died to defend, and died in the hope of obtaining. You didn't have to pay money, learn another language, take a test, be sequestered from traveling to visit your loved ones, or take an oath to defend the Constitution. You simply had to be born.

I despise the attitude "Well, I've got mine -- everyone else can fuck off!" I despise it in corporations, political figures, social groups, and individuals.

I consider it, dare I say -- Un-American.

And now, in interest of something I've been thinking about, I'm going to take an action on everything that I bitch about, and send a letter to the INS about high fees and inefficient processes.

Posted byPortlyDyke at 3:02 PM 8 comments  

Labels: Immigration, Politics, Privilege, Racism, Xenophobia