<p>“These kid (born in the USA) can help thier parents get green cards (and become legal).”</p>
<p>They can TRY – there is no guarantee. And they can’t even try until they are 21.</p>
<p>There is a misconception that marrying a citizen automatically (or even reliably) normalizes the status of someone who is in the US illegally. That isn’t the case. A lot depends on the nature of the alien spouse’s status, as well as the quality of their legal help. There are plenty of people who are legitimately married to US citizens who are subject to deportation.</p>
<p>Illegals do not automatically become legitimately here by getting married. There is a process that one has to undergo. Paper work that needs to be filed, rules that have to be followed. Interviews, investigations even, particularly in some areas. That’s because of the abuse of this venue. There are businesses here in the NYC that cater to this crowd. $12K is what I hear is the going rate to buy a spouse and get legal. Yes, I know people who have undergone the process and some who got paid to provide a route to legality for someone. Some movies have been made about this, by the way, but that does not to into the more sordid side of this, or the business part of this. </p>
<p>My mother is not American and became a permanent citizen through marriage as did my sister in law and my brother’s mother in law. I’m not new to all of this. FOr all of them, it was a natural course of events and the marriages lasted for a very long time, and were not for the purposes of getting citizenship. Neither my mother nor SIL want US citizenship even. There were no expensive attorney fees involved. My son’s best friend married a non citizen and again, she got her green card, no attorneys involved either. </p>
<p>It is not so easy for those children of illegal immigrants to get citizenship for their parents, from what I know. </p>
<p>maybe this will change your perspective, maybe not. either way, it’s a beautiful and moving video and something should be done to help students who have worked so hard like myself yet are denied opportunities because of events beyond their control.</p>
<p>I’m a senior now, but going to a state school in California next year.
I personally have no problem with states offering undocumented immigrants in-state tuition and even financial aid, but I find it extremely unfair that residents often don’t get those benefits. </p>
<p>My family has lived in California for almost 7 years, but we’re Canadian citizens on a work visa. We’re classified as CA residents for tuition purposes, but we get absolutely no financial aid. Meanwhile, undocumented immigrants can file the DREAM Act application and received in-state tuition with aid, plus some in-state scholarships. If these benefits are extended to undocumented students, why aren’t they given to people who got here legally? That seems to be a major flaw that everyone is overlooking.</p>
<p>60,000 children are expected to come to the US from Central America this year. Someone just needs to enforce our immigration policies instead of looking the other way and we won’t have to have these crazy discussions.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a whole lot of argument about this point. Extreme scenarios often are dealt with compassion and understanding and creative solutions. The challenge is when we try to build a broad policy based on feelings for the extreme scenarios.</p>
<p>This is not just true related to immigration. As a different example, whenever the news has a story about the problem with educational debt, they invariable have an interview with a student who is $200k in debt and may have some other complexities (illness, poor parents, etc). And so your viewpoint is shaded by that coupled with big scary numbers. And then all sorts of solutions are proposed.</p>
<p>But then you look into it and realize that 30% of graduates have no debt and of everyone else, the average debt is less than 30k. Okay, so that ain’t great, but you may create a different solution based on that than on the outliers.</p>
<p>Once the child turns 21, it’s not that difficult to petition to bring your parents to the US as permanent residents, though it could be costly. I just had some family do this (from Guatemala). They did have to use a lawyer (which cost a few thousand dollars), and it took about a year (after she turned 21). </p>
<p>“My mother is not American and became a permanent citizen through marriage as did my sister in law and my brother’s mother in law.”</p>
<p>Right, because they weren’t here illegally to begin with. If you’re here on a student or work visa, and you marry a citizen, no problem. I’m not talking about the process to verify that the marriage is legit and not a matter of convenience. I’m talking about rules that prevent normalization of status for those who are present in the US illegally. Marrying a citizen does NOT fix this situation, in contrast to many people’s beliefs about the law.</p>
<p>Why do people always say that they are taking away our jobs? Oh yeah, like you were gonna go in the field and pick strawberries all day…oh wait, you weren’t! I actually live in a place with illegal immigrants (Southern California), unlike most people who are posting here, so I know these things.</p>
<p>I’m totally against this. How can anybody think this is fair?
They take our jobs and now they’re getting tuition aid too??
My mother came to this country legally, and it should be expected of others to do the same. </p>
<p>soniali,
What do you say to the X thousands of legal residents who didn’t get in to college or get the state scholarship because those spots went to an illegal immigrant instead? They are also denied opportunities because of events beyond their control.</p>
<p>Hanna, I personally know two people very well who came here illegally, had a sham marriege they bought and are now legitimately here. It’s a cottage industry in my area. It’s done by those well to do as well as those who are not. It’s a quick and easy fix, relatively speaking. Pricey, yes, though if you know people and are doing it under the table not so much. I live in an area filled with illegals. My parents lived in South Dade for years, so this is not new to me. </p>
<p>I can make sad videos of Americans and their children too . Beautiful ones. have seen them. Those innocent children of prostitutes, druggies, criminals , families torn apart and those whose parents can’t find a job. The homeless, the ones in terrible areas. Heart renching. These are kids here legally. Their parents here legally. And we spend money on those here ILLEGALLY that could be used to take care of own. These are not our own, but we are making it so because they are being used to enrich people here. Not for humanitarian purposes. They’d be out in an instant otherwise. </p>
<p>The chutzpah:
I want to be made a citizen if I go to college. And, oh yeah, I want you to subsidize my college tuition.</p>
<p>I am amazed from the article how easy it is to get a valid drivers license in some states and a fake SSN. Makes me wonder why the TSA even bothers looking at travelers’ photo ID in airports.</p>