Immigration

I'm an illegal immigrant.

Yep. I'm a white-skinned, red-blooded, Protestant Christian, college educated, born-in-the-USA, tax paying, hard working American citizen. But I'm also an illegal immigrant in Mexico.

"WAIT!" I hear you shouting. you can't be illegal - you're working!

Of course I'm working. I'm working for a Christian school who refuses to get me legal paperwork and instead pays me under the table. So every time I cross security at the airport, I can't be a Christian witness and tell them "I'm teaching at a Missionary school in Mexico City". I have to lie. I am visiting my husband; I'm staying with a friend; I'm learning Spanish; I'm avoiding the cold northern winters. Basically, I have to pretend that I'm spending every day tanning and drinking margaritas when I'm working a full-time schedule and putting up with kids who don't do their homework and parents who don't speak English and board members who don't know how to run a school.

None of this makes me legal. A little piece of paper makes me legal, and I don't have it.

To Clarify: I am NOT sneaking across the border. I'm crossing into Mexico legally. I'm returning legally. I have a valid passport and a 'tourist visa' which gives me permission to stay in Mexico for up to 180 days at a time as long as I do not commit a crime or ask for government resources.

So, I feel that the following facts about U.S. immigration should be shared:

1. 40% of illegal immigrants in the U.S. arrive with legal documentation, only they overstay their visas. (I can see how easy this is! Once I'm in, no one calls to remind me to leave, or anything.) Once someone has overstayed his or her visa, that person officially has an 'illegal' status and his or her application for legal residency or citizenship will likely be denied.
Myths about illegal immigration: http://www.urban.org/publications/900898.html
how to become a legal resident: http://www.ehow.com/how_2083009_become-legal-us-resident.html
how to become a citizen: http://www.visaus.com/citizen.html

2. Most U.S. citizens are ok with letting current illegal immigrants (about 12 million of them) become legal residents or citizens as long as they learn English, keep a job, and stay out of prison. In otherwords, as long as they act like us. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/opinion/02fri3.html

3. Children who immigrate illegally while minors are still held responsible for their crime. In other words, if a person came to the U.S. illegally as a minor, s/he can be deported with his or her parents if under 18, and once that immigrant graduates from U.S. high school (passing government class, in English) - a feat that up to 25% of U.S. citizen children are not able to accomplish on time - s/he still cannot apply for legal residency or citizenship. Ever. That is why this recent story on CNN really got me angry: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/14/georgia.student.immigration/index.html
and also why I support this guy from my hometown: http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-man-faces-deportation-following-arrest-in-arizona/

4. While a legal path to citizenship has not yet been proposed (as I mentioned above, most U.S. citizens are ok with this), the DREAM act has been. http://dreamact.info/students This would help law-abiding young people who were brought here illegally by their parents to apply for citizenship, basically forgiving them for living with their parents when they crossed the border.

5. Most illegal immigrants pay taxes: sales taxes & gasoline taxes, of course, but also 2/3 of illegal immigrants pay payroll taxes: income taxes, social security, and medicaid taxes even though they will never receive federal or state benefits. http://reason.org/news/show/122411.html
The only services illegal immigrants can receive are K-12 education (less than 5% of school children are either illegal or children of illegals) and emergency room care.

In short, the US needs a more humane and logical immigration system. Christians need to support immigrants, no matter where they came from or how they got here, because those are our brothers and sisters in Christ. http://faithandimmigration.org/content/about-ccir