Out of status parents for close to 25 yrs, kid sponsors them for permanent residency

I wouldn't call this a "happy ending" ... it's the classic "anchor baby" scenario that fuels the anti-immigration crowd and annoys me as well. Enter illegally, have a kid, use the kid to be become legal.
 
Jackolantern said:
I wouldn't call this a "happy ending" ... it's the classic "anchor baby" scenario that fuels the anti-immigration crowd and annoys me as well. Enter illegally, have a kid, use the kid to be become legal.
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Unfortunately the anti-immigration crowd's rank is swollen by those immigrants themselves who were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to live legally in this country and don't want to see others get the same.....
 
Jackolantern said:
I wouldn't call this a "happy ending" ... it's the classic "anchor baby" scenario that fuels the anti-immigration crowd and annoys me as well. Enter illegally, have a kid, use the kid to be become legal.
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His parents didn't enter illegally. They overstayed their visa and became out of status. Their other son was out of status all these years. I highly doubt it was their intention to purposely overstay their visa, have a child just to have to wait 21 years later to be sponsored by that child. In this case it was a happy ending as the parents are sponsored and the son was able to graduate with a university degree; definitely alot more than some of the anti-immigration haters will ever achieve in their lifetime. Also, I don't see this as the classic anchor baby scenario where parents illegally enter the country and have a child just to be able to gain legal status later..btw, a notion that has been disproven.

http://www.nwaonline.net/projects/immigration/children.html
 
I don't think many immigrants have the foresight of 21 years down the road. I highly doubt they make decisions about having children based on that. In my opinion that's just extreme anti-immigrant hogwash ;) On the other hand there is people who overstay visas and after a few years their only hope becomes to have one of these US citizen children sponsor them. In some cases people risk going in front of an immigration judge. All in all they are usually not very happy stories. If one had any anti-immigrant sentiment I think it should be applied in making sure people are deterred from settling in the country in the first place. If you can avoid that they come to the country it is better than deporting them, but if you have to deport them, do it sooner than later, before they have roots. I am not saying I share this point of view, just that I think that would be a logical path to follow. However, I see a lot of hypocrisy in this debate (not in this forum, I mean in general, in the country). These immigrants, illegal or not help the economy. I'm sure there are lots of restaurants, shops, landlords and others that would not like to see them go. Just imagine if you could magically round up the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and make them disappear. What that would do to the economy!
 
As far as I am concerned, it is a flattering compliment to my country that so many people want to come here and stay. The last time I checked people are not flocking to a place like China.

If people stop immigrating to America (legally or illegaly) then it means the country is in real trouble.
 
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Of course they did. Everybody does. A country might not make you a legal immigrant, but you can rest assured they will make sure they get the taxes out of you. Don't fall prey of the anti-immigrant rhetoric.
 
Bobsmyth said:
His parents didn't enter illegally. They overstayed their visa and became out of status.
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Same difference. Still here illegally for decades, then able to adjust status while people who have never been out of status for a day have to pack their bags and go. When it comes to how it affects other people, overstaying is even worse than entering illegally, because overstaying makes it harder for honest people to get a visa.
 
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Huracan said:
I don't think many immigrants have the foresight of 21 years down the road. I highly doubt they make decisions about having children based on that. In my opinion that's just extreme anti-immigrant hogwash ;) On the other hand there is people who overstay visas and after a few years their only hope becomes to have one of these US citizen children sponsor them. In some cases people risk going in front of an immigration judge. All in all they are usually not very happy stories. If one had any anti-immigrant sentiment I think it should be applied in making sure people are deterred from settling in the country in the first place. If you can avoid that they come to the country it is better than deporting them, but if you have to deport them, do it sooner than later, before they have roots. I am not saying I share this point of view, just that I think that would be a logical path to follow. However, I see a lot of hypocrisy in this debate (not in this forum, I mean in general, in the country). These immigrants, illegal or not help the economy. I'm sure there are lots of restaurants, shops, landlords and others that would not like to see them go. Just imagine if you could magically round up the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and make them disappear. What that would do to the economy!
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If we need them for work, let's expand the legal channels for people to come here to work, rather than giving some lawbreakers an advantage based on where their child was born.
 
Huracan said:
I don't think many immigrants have the foresight of 21 years down the road. I highly doubt they make decisions about having children based on that. In my opinion that's just extreme anti-immigrant hogwash ;) On the other hand there is people who overstay visas and after a few years their only hope becomes to have one of these US citizen children sponsor them. In some cases people risk going in front of an immigration judge. All in all they are usually not very happy stories. If one had any anti-immigrant sentiment I think it should be applied in making sure people are deterred from settling in the country in the first place. If you can avoid that they come to the country it is better than deporting them, but if you have to deport them, do it sooner than later, before they have roots. I am not saying I share this point of view, just that I think that would be a logical path to follow. However, I see a lot of hypocrisy in this debate (not in this forum, I mean in general, in the country). These immigrants, illegal or not help the economy. I'm sure there are lots of restaurants, shops, landlords and others that would not like to see them go. Just imagine if you could magically round up the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and make them disappear. What that would do to the economy!
Click to expand...

you may personally not think 21 years down the road, but that is exactly what "anchor baby" phenomenon is about. And they do not even have to think 21 years later. It's more like with a view towards what happens today. Once they have a baby, who somehow automatically is a US citizen, they know that it becomes much more difficult for authorities to deport them as parents of a "US citizen." There, that is the system for you, if it makes any sense.

Just the other day, I listened to a news story that said a bunch of kids born in the US was suing the US government for deporting their parents. Go figure.
 
Jackolantern said:
If we need them for work, let's expand the legal channels for people to come here to work, rather than giving some lawbreakers an advantage based on where their child was born.
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Jackolantern, I agree with you. I have advocated (in forums, mind you) that approach. Instead of pitting legal immigrants against undocumented, overstayers, et al. let's expand the legal avenues. Everybody is getting played in this game. I am not against curbing or deterring immigration, but all has to be done on an honest dialogue of all the ramifications of any action taken.
 
absrao:
Others: Risking the backlash, I will express my thoughts anyway. You have been an immigrant, you should know better. Don't burn the bridges. No one likes more people into the land as it creates competition for resources. At the same time, don't forget where you came from. The underlying truth of American immigration policy is to gather the best of breed (Think about this part hard and you will see what I mean). If someone risks their life (and everything else), figures how to get here and stay here, so be it. Think of it as survival of the fittest and fittest gets to live in the new world. At the end of the day (or time), America gathers fittest. Fittest can be best of the minds, best of risk takers etc.
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Sorry to say but your entire logic is flawed. The truth is that these people commit a crime by illegally entering or overstaying their visas. It also means that they support themselves by illegally working without papers or forged documents. So it is "kind of" ok to commit crime? So where is the borderline. Is it also ok for them to steal to support themselves?
Your entire evolution logic might have made sense few thousand years back but in today's world we live in a society controlled by laws.

Following your logic the Virginia T. shooter is the fittest, Hitler and Stalin would would be the last survival of mankind :rolleyes:...
 
absrao said:
Others: Risking the backlash, I will express my thoughts anyway. You have been an immigrant, you should know better. Don't burn the bridges. No one likes more people into the land as it creates competition for resources. At the same time, don't forget where you came from. The underlying truth of American immigration policy is to gather the best of breed (Think about this part hard and you will see what I mean). If someone risks their life (and everything else), figures how to get here and stay here, so be it. Think of it as survival of the fittest and fittest gets to live in the new world. At the end of the day (or time), America gathers fittest. Fittest can be best of the minds, best of risk takers etc.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. Frankly it baffles me to see some immigrants in this country treat other immigrants (those with expired visas, came without being inspected etc...) as criminals. No immigrant has the desire to be illigally present in the US. It is circumstances (social and/or financial) that forces them to be in this situation. The system also makes it almost impossible for certain people to find a legal avenue to come or stay here. Don't forget where you came from people! and as far as I am concerned other people being legalized no matter what avenue doesn't take away from my status. See, throughout US history you'll always find immigrant groups who came in to this country away from poverty, settled became successful and don't want to see others get the same chance. It sickens me to my stomach!
 
So according to you, circumstances compel people to break immigration laws, and you are okay with it. Where does it stop then? If circumstances compel people to break civil and criminal laws, is that okay too in your opinion?

formerf1 said:
No immigrant has the desire to be illigally present in the US. It is circumstances (social and/or financial) that forces them to be in this situation. The system also makes it almost impossible for certain people to find a legal avenue to come or stay here.
Click to expand...
 
Triple Citizen said:
So according to you, circumstances compel people to break immigration laws, and you are okay with it. Where does it stop then? If circumstances compel people to break civil and criminal laws, is that okay too in your opinion?
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It is NOT okay to break any laws in my opinion. But where the system makes it almost impossible not to break it for some, that fact needs to be recognized and there needs to be leniency.

Question: Do you have issues with people who have had criminal record (not CMITs), traffic tickets and so on, being naturalized?
They have broken some laws haven't they?
 
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