by Tanvir Toy
Reports of President Obama’s immigration plan concern me. U.S. A. Today and the New York Times report that a plan floated by the administration would require undocumented immigrants to wait on line for 8 years to apply for their green cards. The proposal does shorten the path for young people brought here brought by their parents. And that’s a good start.
Immigrants Under One Umbrella
But the bad thing is that the plan we’re reading about puts all immigrants under one umbrella which is not fair. There are many undocumented immigrants who have been in this country for years, speak English, pay their taxes, maintain steady jobs, and may I add, do not take any hand outs from the government. They will be grouped together with all other undocumented immigrants. They’ll have to wait eight years just to apply for their green cards and then wait five more years to become citizens. Thirteen years or more. Come on.
Create a Better Path to Citizenship
We might not have the resources to look at 11 million people on a case to case basis, but I’m sure we can come up with something better. Undocumented immigrants have been waiting for years, some as long as 20 years. Don’t make them wait longer.
I’m not an expert but I am one of the millions who wants to be legal, work, earn as much money as I can contribute to the U.S. economy and my community. I want my family members, who have worked in this country and paid taxes and never broken a law to qualify for a green card. That will allow them to work legally, get on the road to citizenship and travel outside of the U.S. to see family members. Maybe a better path to citizenship would allow the people who have been here a certain time to get their green card before the recent arrivals.
I think I speak for many undocumented immigrants when I say, shorten the time for a green card. Undocumented immigrants are willing to pay fines, back taxes, not take welfare. But please don’t pile more years of waiting on what we’ve already endured.
Let us know what you think.
