Only in America, where the deranged Donald Trump is a presidential candidate for the third time, could we ever have a debate featuring lies about immigrants stealing and eating pets. His rants have directed a virtual torchlight parade of hate towards Springfield, Ohio, terrorizing immigrants and sparking bomb threats at elementary schools. His efforts to rile up anti-immigration sentiments since the first moment he ran for office in 2015 have led to rage, myths and misunderstanding.
This is absolute lunacy.
Since 1820, the first time the census counted the foreign born, the United States has absorbed more than 60 million people from 170 different nations. In every generation, immigrants have shaped our country, mostly for the better.
My great-grandfather, an Irish rebel, arrived in America in 1884, after the British found a tad too many guns in the basement of his County Mayo pub. At that time, to vote in American elections any male immigrant needed two things: to possess an American address and express the mere intention of becoming a citizen. They then became instant voters. Right now, it takes most would-be citizens decades for the privilege of casting a ballot.
The cost to become a U.S. citizen is appalling and often takes decades.
The wonder, to me, is that so many immigrants still want to come here given the invective directed at them, not to mention the ridiculous expense and obstacles they must overcome in order to become citizens. Understanding the difficulties has been an eye-opening experience.
I have watched my young friend Zarifa, who is from Afghanistan and came here in 2012 to attend college, endure a legal gauntlet in her effort to become a U.S. citizen. Her journey truly began in 2002 when the Taliban murdered her father for opposing the cruelty of their rule. Zarifa learned English quickly, helped in part by American soldiers with whom she became friends. With enormous ingenuity, she fought for her and her sisters to get a good education. Once here, with few financial resources, she has still had to spend thousands on lawyers to push forward her asylum application. It took six years and more money to lawyers to even get an interview. By the time she takes the oath of citizenship, which should be in four years, she will have been here for 16 years.
As a friend and concerned onlooker, I have been in turn appalled by the cost – both emotional and financial – and proud of her for persisting in this journey. But as Mary Ann, a certified expert in assisting immigrants in the Atlanta area, told me Zarifa is one of the lucky ones. (I refuse to use their last names to reduce the chances they will be harassed.) Mary Ann is certified because she lives in one of the states that has certification courses for immigration assistance for non-lawyers; there is also a nationwide accreditation through the Department of Justice. The $10,000 Zarifa had to pay attorneys to get this far is one of the cheaper costs that Mary Ann has recently heard. Legal services often cost would-be citizens $20,000 or more – a disgrace.
The costs weren’t over when Zarifa’s asylum was approved. She paid around $1,200 last year for the privilege of filling out an application for her green card as a legal, permanent resident of the United States. This year, the cost went up to $3,005, a planned price hike instituted during the Trump administration. And when she becomes eligible to take the 100-question citizenship test in four years – a test that many native-born students routinely fail – it will cost up to $760 to apply, although there are some discounts that exist for those who have low incomes. (Here is a link to a U.S. citizenship test anyone can take to test one’s knowledge. Happily, I passed, so I guess I can stay.)
Besides the appalling cost, I asked Mary Ann what Americans don’t understand about immigrants. “The vast majority of them pay taxes,” she said. “They aren’t taking American jobs, they take jobs that Americans don’t take.” Many of them get exploited once here, sometimes by other immigrants. Some of her clients were ripped off by people claiming to be a “notorio,” which is the term for a lawyer in some countries. They offer to fill out immigration paperwork for $1,000 or more for vulnerable people who are then at risk for deportation when the applications are filled out poorly, as they too often are.
Mary Ann helps immigrants who have cases before the Atlanta immigration court, one of about 70 around the U.S. It has a very tough reputation; she says it approves just 5 percent of asylum cases, so her work has to be nearly perfect to move forward. Still, she has seen success stories. “One man I helped, who was older, fell to his knees weeping when I told him his green card had been approved.” Another young client, poorly educated, had what she called a “crazy journey” to come to America. He left Senegal and traveled through Morocco, Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and finally arrived in the United States in December barely speaking English. But he worked hard and now is fluent.
Mary Ann wishes that people could see what she sees every day. “A lot of people think immigrants are here to feed off society. That isn’t true,” she said. “They want to come here, work hard, and someday obtain the American dream,” of freedom and a better life.
They should be welcomed, not demonized for those dreams, no matter what lies Trump tells about them.
Thank you, Maura, for detailing how extremely daunting it is to become a U.S. citizen. I will take that citizenship test - when I dare!
Maura - this writing that you share is a contemporary story that continues to make me deeply sad and ashamed. And it is repeated endlessly. I have continued to worry about the Haitian community in Springfield. I've contacted the Catholic School there to see if they have some initiative underway to assist the Haitian students who may be in their school community. I am by no means wealthy, but I want to do something to express my support for their well-being.