Opinion: Immigration law’s unrelenting heartbreak
By Rebekah Rodriguez-Lynn
On Nov. 20, 2014, President Obama gave a historic speech on immigration. Despite how profoundly personal this issue is to me, I didn’t watch. For the past decade, I have avoided any mention of immigration reform — hearing or reading about it causes my stomach to churn.
The topic brings me back to a window in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in 2004. The five minutes I spent there damaged my life irrevocably. With the swipe of a pen, a blank-faced clerk denied my husband’s application for a marriage visa and shattered our family.
We had met four years earlier, working at a Mexican restaurant in a small town in Southern California. We fell in love, spending hours talking after the restaurant closed. He told me about how his mother had died when he was young, and his father descended into alcoholism. He and his nine brothers and sisters had to fend for themselves. He arrived in the U.S. at 17, finished high school, and got three jobs to support his younger siblings in Mexico. And because he had entered the country illegally, he did all this without documents.
We got married in 2002, then moved to Cambridge, Mass., so I could earn a master’s degree at Harvard University. We had a beautiful baby boy. On the weekends, we’d go to the park and I would watch my husband do cartwheels for our giggling baby. At night, we would pile into the cheap black futon in our one-bedroom apartment. We were happy.
But we knew we couldn’t build a stable life for our son without regularizing my husband’s immigration status. So we applied for a marriage visa and, one year later, got an appointment at the American Consulate in Ciudad Juarez on April 17, 2004. At the time, anyone applying for a visa needed legal standing to receive an appointment inside the U.S.
So we flew to California, left our son with family, and hopped a bus to Ciudad Juarez. The morning of our appointment we found the waiting room of the American Consulate filled with couples like us.
The clerk called us to the window. My husband raised his right hand and promised to tell the truth. She only asked one question: Have you ever crossed illegally besides your initial entrance? Yes, he answered. He had returned to visit his ailing grandmother. The clerk informed us that my husband was barred from entering the United States for life. Can we appeal? No. She called the next couple.
I couldn’t care for a toddler alone while studying and working two jobs, so I left my son in Mexico, too. I returned home to an empty crib and an empty bed. I felt as though my limbs had been torn from my body. My family was gone. I found a top immigration lawyer who agreed to see me pro bono. He told me there was absolutely nothing he could do.
My husband had not broken any criminal laws. By visiting his grandmother, he had violated immigration regulations. For that, he was given a life sentence with no parole. My marriage seemed worthless in the eyes of the law — a law that left my innocent son with parents broken apart against their will.
Our justice system is weighted toward keeping families together. Children are often sent back to abusive homes on the principle of the sanctity of family. But this was not the case with my family. In my son’s eyes, his father is a superhero. Yet for over a decade now, my government has thrown up roadblock after roadblock to keep them apart.
Months later, I finally read Obama’s speech on immigration. His executive order prevents people from being deported if they have American children. It’s designed to protect kids like my son until Congress passes something more permanent. But a federal judge in Texas has put the executive order on hold; an appeals court heard oral arguments on April 17 and will rule soon, but the case may eventually go to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, I pray for a ruling that will keep other families from suffering as we have.
Rebekah Rodriguez-Lynn studied politics at UCLA and public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She lives in Southern California with her son and her Chihuahua. She wrote this for Thinking L.A., a partnership of UCLA and Zócalo Public Square.
What about the other millions who are here for the freebies and to break the laws and aren’t here to work and don’t plan to contribute anything? This is the reason laws are passed to try and have order instead of chaos, people ILLEGALLY entering this country are violating our laws and causing the chaos and should be deported to their home countries and they are lucky to not face the laws of illegally entering in their own country which can be mandatory prison sentences. The author of this piece, chose to involve herself with a man she knew was illegally in the country and she proceeded to try to work the system knowing the laws prevent illegal entry, she could choose to live in Mexico perhaps if she entered legally and was accepted as an immigrant, but if she illegally entered there would be harsh consequences, there is no system to work there for sympathy. It doesn’t work to first violate the laws, illegally enter, numerous times, and then try to make it legal, no matter what illegal order King Insane Hussein tries or says as he tries to break the laws himself for new voters and a huge new welfare burden not to mention the danger for all legal residents of the country by having an unsecured border and what is walking in for criminal activity. The unsecured border should be the biggest priority in the country as a national defense issue and it is ignored for the blatant political corruption of the left.
Still pointing fingers, still……
Still your same boring retort nature, still….
One Nation Under God.That goes for people to.
Justice says
Thank you, excellent. I feel all of the people that are here ILLEGALLY should be DEPORTED. and never allowed to return. They should never be given Welfare or any other free Gov handout. They don’t pay taxes and most of the money they make they send back to Mexico and don’t even spend it here in our Country. There are millions of us that think like this and one day it will come to a head and it will get ugly.
One nation under God? That doesn’t speak for me, thank you very much. Besides the “under God” part was added in the 50’s.
I prefer the original from 1892:”I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
I don’t see any chaos. Mostly jobs that would be left unfilled otherwise.
Take this opportunity to read Justass’ post in a bad terrorist voice. Its hilarious.
Kit, noticed you dont chastise justanass for saying the same thing over and over but you do chastise me for it. Ask me if I give a rats a$$.
A nation is defined as one when it has distinct borders, a national language, and a distinct culture and a system of laws for order and immigration and to prevent chaos and the laws must be enforced by competent leaders. Not a system of illegal pandering executive actions and then a desire to be rewarded for illegal actions. This idea of laws and order used to be what most of the country stood for, now there is the attempt of the left that tries all it can to eliminate all of the above and create as much angst and corruption and discontent through poverty and unemployment and victimization and blaming as many others as possible. This is just the latest leftist idea for massive poverty recruits and open borders for new leftist voters.
It is not the government’s job to unite families. Fasmilies can make their own decisions about where they want to live, according to the laws of their host country.
The idea that Americans won’t do the jobs is a false naritive.
Wrong –
The truth is Americans would not do the jobs for the low pay offered.
So the Corporatists and the rich instead important illegal aliens.
An evil answer.
We will continue our decline unless Americans stand up for Americans.
So Tomorrow…
Who do you vote for, the corporate right who you say is responsible for the low wages, or the left who is at least trying to correct some of the wrongs?
Which is it??
Personally, I find it repugnant that you seem to be sticking up for Americans who will accept welfare instead of working at jobs which they have deemed to be beneath them. (Read that as only good for immigrants.)
Are these Americans saying they are too good to work at the same job as, for instance a Mexican?
Justice-
Do you ever think before you start pounding our keyboard?
Where do you get the idea that immigrants don’t pay taxes? You are just flat wrong.
Unless working in the total cash economy (which is not legal, and not done nearly as much as most people believe)immigrants pay into medicare, social security and other programs.
Additionally, even if they are being paid in the cash economy,everything they buy (just like you and I) has sales taxes and user taxes attached.
So tell me again how they don’t pay taxes?
Well Gerald since you felt it nessary to get nasty I will respond in kind.
Your assessment of who runs mega corporations is intellectually shallow.
Progressives do.
Progressives will support any party that they think they can extract favors from. That is why Obama got record breaking support from them. To label them as right wing is to demonstrate your ignorance.
Personally it is repugnant to me that you felt the need to attack me personally. You could have made your point and been civil about it.
Since you instead acted like an a-hole I will not respond to you again.
There is much depth to the issue that could be discused however you are to ignorant To get any deeper then the kiddie pool.
South lake Tahoe has a very bad reputation, I know now that it is well earned.
Cranky: How do illegals get legit social security numbers to provide these employers?
TD. what a stoopid thing to imply that mega corporations are all run by progressives. How do the Koch brothers fit into your scenerio? How many mega corporations do they own? How many politicians have they pimped? Your logic is bought too, IMHO. Also, I wonder how many low paying jobs and “illegal workers”they employ. My guess is their toilets and lawns are maintained by some of those people you are putting down. But thats ok with them…
Tomorrow, progressives run the mega corporations? I am shocked. I hereby denounce and reject my affiliation with the Bull Moose Party. Teddy Roosevelt would be rolling over in his grave. How the mighty have fallen;)
How do people illegally in the country pay taxes? A vast majority don’t pay income tax because of no SS number, some use identity theft for fake numbers, others use forged documents. The ones filing often file for the free money for “low income” people that is available as a form of theft from taxpayers. A large income source for people inside Mexico is money sent from people illegally in the US who are working off the books in most cases if they have no SS number. Not enforcing the immigration laws consistently for over six years and not securing the border has brought in a few more million to try and get on the gravy train aided by liberal run states not checking or caring about laws requiring legal citizenship when giving out free tax payer money and benefits when a simple national program could be put in place. There would be many returning home if there was a simple national SS number check program in place for employment and any benefit or public services. People from all over the world who want to be Legal immigrants and are waiting for years are the ones also suffering from this open border system of chaos from illegal entries and non-enforcement of visa overstays and the huge numbers of “refugees” being brought in with little knowledge of the people here and no approval to do it. The system is broken and just like the riots in the leftist cities who encourage them and don’t react, it will take serious new law and order and not corrupted or bribed new leaders to stop these growing problems.
Nature Bats Last
What a obnoxious ignoramus you are, always calling people names, you act like a child and the community is damaged by people like you. Very damaged.
Here is some names for the adults that don’t want to be stuck on stupid.
Warren Buffet
George Soros
Steve Winn
Steve Jobs
Michael Bloomberg
Roger Immelt
There are six simple names to counter you with, All prominent democrats that are progressives and all you can come up with is Koch brothers, You are a broken record. A one trick pony or in your case, A one trick ****.
The Koch brothers promote freedom.
Just what is it that you promote, Nature bats?
Most Mega corporations are run by progressives. Yes, that is how I see it. The facts are overwhelming.
Don’t be so stupid to equate republicans with conservative. There are plenty of progressives that are republicans too, i.e. GW, his brother Jeb.
It is easy to see that you, Nature bats, are rooted in evil just by the way you always attack people and call them names, you are a nasty POS that is stuck on stupid and I will reiterate – you are a detriment to the community.
By reading you and other specimens on these posts it is easy to understand the retched hole that SLT has become.
@Tomorrow dreaming. Get a grasp of the English language before you start calling people ignorant.”false naritive. So the Corporatists and the rich instead important illegal aliens, you felt it nessary to get nasty, you are to ignorant To get any deeper then the kiddie pool, Here is some names” etc.
Guess I hit a nerve. More meds available TD? Remember when you point fingers way more are pointing right back at you. You, btw, are an idiot. Have a nice day…
Oldtimer….after carefully reading the comments, i have to say, things have ALREADY gotten ugly.
I love the Koch Industries ads….they give me such a warm feeling….oh wait, that’s them pi666ing on the American Dream.
Tommorow Dreaming….Jeb Bush?? Are you frickin’ serious?
TD,
Steve Jobs? Reference to the deceased?
The Kock, excuse me, Koch brothers promote freedom? Their father founded the John Birch society. They bought Scott Walker to do away with unions. They were instrumental in pushing through the Citizens United ruling that effectively killed fair elections. The only freedom they promote is their own freedom to do anything that will profit THEM.
When will people learn that big money is never altruistic in its endeavors. We are in a new “Guilded Age” where the leverage of vast amounts of wealth are able to easily outweigh the wants and needs of the average citizens.
Try instead to live a life where you are not judging yourself by what you have, but by how you treat those who are less fortunate than yourself.