Transcending Borders

Immigrant to Citizen

Becoming an American citizen isn’t as easy as it seems. First one must go the U.S embassy to get a visa. But before you can get a visa, you must show that you have assets, property to which a value can be assigned, so if you don’t come back they could take away your assets. 

After you get your visa, you come to America for a maximum of six months. Now to get citizenship you can either marry a United States citizen, get sponsored by a united state citizen, get amnesty or get a working permit so you can reside in America.

Then you have to send in your application and wait two to five years for it to process. Once it processes, they will call you back and you have to take your citizenship test, once you pass you get sworn in as a citizen and then apply for a passport. 

If you click the link, you’ll see the emigration and immigration changes that have happened in the last 4 years. The United States of America as well as Mexico, play the biggest role in changes. With -797,000 people leaving México and 1.2 million people coming into America.

(Click through for article) It’s hard enough for immigrant families to have to deal with their children’s education being in jeopardy but now having to leave there jobs because of this new Alabama law, it’s just ridiculous. The only thing that’s going to change is the location of these immigrants, they’re going to have to pack there things and look for a new home. Also, I believe that this is a government issue not a state issue. The state should have a right to do this.

"Your car is Japanese.
Your beer is German.
Your wine is Spanish.
Your democracy is Greek.
Your coffee is Colombian.
Your tea is Chinese.
Your watch is Swiss.
Your fashion is French.
Your shirt is Indian.
Your shoes are Thai.
Your radio is Korean.
Your vodka is Russian.
And then you complain that your neighbor is an immigrant?"

Americans use goods that are imported, we dont even buy cars that america makes. So whose the real immigrant here?

"The fine for having an illegal immigrant working for you is $ 10,000+"

facts from my mother

Green Cards

There are four ways to obtain a Green Card in the United States of America:

1. Employment Based Green Cards (“EB”).  There are 5 subcategories.
2. Family Based Green Cards (“FB”).  You are eligible for a Green Card through marriage to a US citizen or based on certain other family members who may apply for you.
3. Asylum.  If you have a well-founded fear of harm or persecution if you are returned to your home country, you may be eligible to apply for Asylum.
4. Green Card Lottery.  While you certainly should not count on this as the only way to get a Green Card if you are from an eligible country (this changes yearly), you should submit your name to this yearly.  As they say with any lottery, if you don’t play you can never win!!

"Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our past, with clean hands and a clear conscience."

John F. Kennedy, “A Nation of Immigrants” (1958)

Walking around with nothing more than a backpack and a schedule, Hugo Moreas tried to find his first period class. Being a new student, felt exactly like how it sounded, nerve racking! If that wasn’t enough, he was one out of the few Hispanics at Saint George High, what a great way to start off your senior year.

Running into one of the security guards at the school, Hugo asked where his first period class was and was escorted to the 3rd floor, room 313. Well look what we’ve got here, a new student, what’s your name young man? Said Mr. Porter, the new overly chipper English teacher. Hugo, Hugo Moreas said the new student eager to sit down and get everyone’s eyes off of him.

Although he was a new student, Mr. Porter didn’t let him off the hook with the English project; to do something your passionate about and record your findings and present it to the class in two weeks.  He sat down at his desk, zoning out everyone’s stares and side conversations; all he thought about what this project. Two weeks was not a lot of time to do something your passionate about, which requires dedication and thought.

But just like that, the idea popped into his head and a light bulb went off, protest about immigration! Hugo was a Mexican- American child that was born to parents that came here as illegal immigrants and then became citizens. For the next week, Hugo kept google’ing protests everywhere that was thirty miles within his house. There was an animal rights protest, forest preservation protest, but no immigration protest.

Instead of looking around his little town, he decided to look at protests in New York City and to his surprise he found one! The weekend before the project was due; he boarded a train to New York City Penn station and went to the protest. His sign read “No Illegal’s, No burritos (you better think twice America)!“  He had a sense of humor like that, all work and no play just wasn’t his way.

On Monday morning, everyone went up to present their findings, there passion. Some students made songs, some designed clothing and others made food. There passion and Hugo’s passion were two different things, protesting for immigration rights wasn’t just something he liked but it was a part of him, something he felt like he needed to do!

It was finally his turn to go up to the class and present, he had made a slide show of pictures and videos of the protest in New York City. The entire class oowed and aahhed at his project, none of them even thought about doing this. And in a small town like theirs, going to the city was just an exciting experience. Once he was finished, Mr. Porter stood up and began to applaud, and the students followed. He wasn’t ashamed of who he was, or why he was so interested in immigration because he told the class about his family and there experience about getting here. 

It intrigued many students, now Hugo became more popular and raised awareness about immigration. The following week, Mr. Porter issued a class field trip to a New York City Protest; he just wanted his class to see the passion and dedication that these people have.  It was such a great experience for everyone, all you need is a little courage and passion; it’ll get you a long way.

"I’m really surprised with what I found out when I interviewed Stephany; it makes me take a whole new perspective on immigrants, as an American citizen. We (Americans) always complain about immigrants stealing our jobs but the truth is that if we were better qualified for these jobs we would get it. We are losing jobs to uneducated immigrants, most of who didn’t even go to college! Which is why I think we take things for granted. Immigrants come here and work hard and make a life for themselves, we just expect things, we go to school from four years old to twenty one years old and then we expect to get a job just like that, and we don’t work hard for them. As Americans, things are handed to us on a plate. Which I think is something that needs to change."

“Interview with an Ecuadorian” response

Interview with an Ecuadorian!

(Click through link) Over the years, the fences along the border have grown in both length as well as high. With the United States of America using recycled materials such as scrap metal from the military mesh and steel beams still used today. Its 21 feet high in some areas, although it was designed to be difficult to climb; the border barrier can be overcome. Sometimes by using ropes, ladders, or just holding on tight and climbing it.

Which side are you on?

                   Republican candidates have been competing with one another on who can talk the toughest about immigration- who will come up with the most impenetrable border defense; and who will turn off college tuition benefits to those who have illegal immigrant parents and were born here as anchor babies.

             The literal border between México and the United States of America is what is really in the middle. Both candidates Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann are proposing a 1,200 mile border fence. For Cain, he wants it to be electrified and in Bachmann’s case, double walled is the way to go. As Mitt Romney said in the republican debate on October 11th, “building these extravagant borders will not only talk years to build but will also cost billions of dollars that we don’t have!” So why should we spend so much money trying to block the border when these immigrants are helping or economy out so much? Immigration actually went down from 2008 to 2010. In 2008 it was 11.6 million and in 2010 it dropped down to 10.8 million, therefore if we’re doing such a good job with lowering immigration rates, we shouldn’t spend more money on the border. 

            Building and maintaining the border has cost America 49 billion dollars so far, and with the new candidate ideas that could go up a substantial amount. Immigrants that want to come in will find a way; that is something I don’t doubt about. If there already risking everything they have to run, hide and get over the border, what makes you think this new border idea is going to stop them? With such determination, they would go to even greater lengths to have a better life.

            The advantages of what immigrants bring in, surpasses the need to go to big lengths and block the border. They come here to have a fresh start, get a better education, and even learn about other cultures outside of their race. Us, Americans, always complain that they drain our tax dollars, over populate our land, and take jobs; when we should be looking at it from there perspective. Immigrants come here and have to take minimum wage jobs, don’t get medical or dental care, and have to pay for their living expenses and food all by themselves. Something we couldn’t do without the monetary help from our government. In the end, who really has it worse?

            Immigrants come and take jobs, Americans wouldn’t want to do and think is beneath them, increase the supply of domestic labor which helps America produce a vast amount of goods at a faster rate. If we prevent immigrants from coming in and taking these jobs, both the producers and consumers will suffer the consequences.

            When looking at the cost benefit analysis of immigration it can be seen that the cost of preventing immigration greatly exceeds any benefit to the American people and economy. Therefore, during this economic state we should allocate our time and resources in getting the economy up and running and disregarding any anti immigration policies. 

(Source: http)

"How does it feel to be thrown into the unknown?
What is it like to leave everything behind?
And to start a new life all over again?
The life of new culture, new language, new everything.
Is it strange? Is it scary? Is it worrisome? My family has the answer for me.
My Relatives are immigrants, I am not,
I asked my family of what America they thought.
I asked my uncle, grandpa, mom, and dad,
About the emotions in America they had.
My uncle said, “In America we sensed a lot of frustration and fear,
But still the best place to be is here.”
Grandpa replied, “America seemed full of unity,
With places to see and so much opportunity.”
My mom answered, “I felt a free land,
Everyone helping each other and lending a hand.”
Dad returned, “I had a great experience of unsureness when coming here,
Yet everyone in America is encouraging and sincere.”
This is how my family felt when they crossed the ocean,
Like birds to the free land of America, filled with emotion.
It was a place of new land and new hope for them.
My family now lives in a country with freedoms.
The freedoms they didn’t have in the country from which they came."

There’s so much meaning behind every word in this poem. The main theme is a wrap up of America, how it feels to come here and see things you never dreamed you’d see. America is a melting pot and when immigrants come here they are adding to our melting pot. Which is why I believe we shouldn’t have a say in who belongs in this great nation and who doesn’t belong because we are all immigrants, only the Native Americans can truly judge.  

When someone visits New York City for the first time ever, whether they are legal or illegal immigrants they all feel the same. A sense of hope, freedom and unity because everyone there is of different ethnicities and that is what makes America great. 

"When you come to a new country, you feel hopeful and carefree. Thinking that you could become anything you want and start over, America definitely imprints that idea into many people’s minds. But coming to a new place, can go from a blithe experience to spiraling down in a matter of seconds. If you’re on your own, you have to think of a place to live, a job to get and sometimes a family to maintain. This is exactly what my parents had to go through when they arrived here, since they were the first to break away from their family and leave Guyana, they came here with nobody’s shoulder to lean on. When my father came, he immediately enlisted into community college, then after that he went to Rutgers to get a degree in accounting. Those couple of years was hard for my parents because they had to work low paying jobs and had to pay off tuition for college. But soon after my father graduated, he landed a great accounting job in the city and that was the first step in financially being able to start a family. My mother just worked as a clerk in a bank, although she didn’t have any college experience, she just worked because she didn’t want to be home alone. When my mom was pregnant with my brother, that’s when my grandparents sponsorship was complete and they came here; so it was a great help, then five years came me! Every time I think about my parents and what they’ve been through to make a better life for me and my brother, I always appreciate them. Parents deserve so much more than they are getting. Therefore, I believe immigration laws shouldn’t be so harsh; people just want to make a better life for themselves just as my parents had."

Immigration-arrival of settlers in new country: the act of entering a new country to settle permanently

"When you leave a country to go to another, you lose everything you’ve made for yourself in your home. Your friends, your house and your memories. I always listen to my parent’s stories about how it was when they left Guyana to come to America. They were the first of their family to break away and leave Guyana to make a better life for themselves, just like Ashima and Ashoke had done in The Namesake. But instead of leaving my family there, my parents sponsored my grandparents because they knew life over here would be better for them. Then when my grandparents got here, they sponsored my aunt and they came here and so the tradition continued until all of my family was here. My parents knew that coming to America was a good idea because they wanted children and they didn’t want them to grow up in Guyana, because the education system isn’t as good as Americas and also because there’s no college in Guyana. Thanks to my parents, all of my family now has a better life including my brother and me."

Emigration-To leave one country or region to settle in another