Law at the Margins
There’s a young woman that lives in suburban Atlanta. She got pulled over and it turns out she isn’t a U.S. Citizen; so, she got to go to jail and she may be deported.
Fair enough?
She came here with her parents when she was a little kid. She did really well in school and is about to graduate, maybe given recent events, from college.
From what I’ve seen, she did lie on a form to either get in college or to get a scholarship or grant for college.
At just what point should she have upped and returned to her country of origin so as to remain a pure and blameless person? 10, 15? Before she lied on a form to go to, or be able to afford, college?
If your parents took you illegally to say, Germany as a kid, and it is all you knew, just when would you have made the decision to come back here? And just how would you have managed it?
3 comments:
Dave -- This sounds like something I ranted on a few years back, and where I came to on that was, is there not a process by which those who are here illegally by dint of their parents dragging them here can apply for legal citizenship?
If there isn't, I suspect that there should be.
Now if she were the respnsible adult who illegally entered the country way back when, I could see the rationale behind telling her she needed to return to her country before applying for a green card here. In this case though? Not so much.
But hey, that's me -- Mr. America is for Everyone, not just those of us lucky enough to be descendents of the original usurpers...
Pulled over for what?
Speeding? Or something else?
How did citizenship even come up?
Yes, the lie on FAFSA is a potential problem -- assuming that she's known all along of her status, or at least since she was old enough to understand.
I have all sorts of outrage and I'm ready to leap in on either side at the drop of a hat here... but I want some facts first. I can easily imagine a fact scenario that makes her perfect for private bill relief -- but I'm really curious about how the immigration status was first discovered. Therein hangs a tale, I'm sure, because in most states, and particularly in big cities (except, maybe, possibly, now, Phoenix), cops are NOT asking about citizenship.
There's factual fodder for both sides Curmudgeon.
She was pulled over for some routine traffic violation. She didn't have her driver's license with her.
She lives in and was pulled over in Cobb County which is a bedroom county just North and West of Atlanta.
Cobb County takes enforcing our Mexican border very seriously and is part of the Federal program for local enforcement of immigration laws.
(An aside, I have a friend who is a bail bondsman in Cobb. He's very frustrated by Cobb's immigration stance as it results in all but the most serious alleged offenders being released OR because there's no room at the jail - it cuts into his business.)
I'm sure she's been aware or her illegal status for some time.
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