A day without ILLEGAL immigrants

I am not a terribly political person (joke below not-withstanding) but I feel compelled to say something about today’s absurd demonstrations. Demonstrations, by the way, that took place with the help of local police, paid for by taxes payers' money.

My understanding (and if I am wrong, feel free to correct me) is that the problem is with ILLEGAL immigration, not immigrants in general. Most of the media today has suspiciously omitted the word illegal from its headlines. Watching most news programs today, you would think the protestors are fighting some bill calling for deportation of anyone who is not a natural born American. The American National Anthem sang in Spanish? I am not the most patriotic person out there, but I find that absolutely appalling. Why not change the Mexican National Anthem to English then?

My family came to this country when I was 13 years old. My father was the only one who knew some English. My mother, brother and I had to struggle to learn the language, and it’s a tough one (i before e except after the c is the least of it). I remember my dad pouring over mountains of paperwork in an attempt to first gain legal status, then a green card, then citizenship. There was a constant threat that our applications would not be accepted, that the life we were slowly building would have to be taken down like a pop up tent and shipped back half way across the world. I spent the first years here maintaining a safe distance from personal connections, lest they be suddenly taken away. It has affected every thing I do now. But we did what we had to do. We did it out of respect for our new home country. I would have not dreamt of demanding that everyone around me learn my language. We came here by choice, I needed to do the adjusting. And I feel I am better off for it.

A friend of ours recently married a woman in Thailand. It took him TWO years to get her over here, and they have a son. But he followed the rules of the law, no matter how infuriating. Not all laws are fair. Maybe it’s even true that most laws are not. But in my opinion, it’s better than not having them at all.

Yes, it has become increasingly more difficult to gain legal status. I don't doubt there needs to be some reform. But demanding amnesty is ridiculous. (Before you start writing your response, I am aware that not everyone is protesting for amnesty, I am only addressing those who do.)

I cannot help but remember back to the day I took my citizenship test. Before going into a private office for the actual test, I sat in a long row of partitioned desks, answering complicated questions like what my name was and what month we were in. I was the only person there who spoke ANY English. The other candidates all had translators (also paid for by our taxes) and never uttered a word in their adopted country's language. I'm sorry, if you can't say your name in English, how are you really going to contribute as a citizen? Citizenship is a priviledge. I worked hard for it. I paid for it. I am proud of it. I did not demand it.

There, I’ve said it. Let the hate mail begin.