tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3082331.post9137546132687069144..comments2023-12-22T15:39:43.656-07:00Comments on debitage: Get In LineStentorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629599671442149938noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3082331.post-16573077765221475612008-09-26T18:56:00.000-07:002008-09-26T18:56:00.000-07:00Oh dear, I've not been good at explaining things a...Oh dear, I've not been good at explaining things again.<BR/><BR/>You say at the end of your post that "most undocumented people have no family in the US". That isn't true. Many, many undocumented people, particularly those who have been here any length of time, have family members who are citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders). There are so many families of "mixed status" out there. Two common permutations:<BR/><BR/>1) undocumented parents with US citizen kids. Remember, those kids aren't real anchor babies since they can't apply for you to become a US citizen before age 21. Then the parent could not even fix their papers in the US under current law unless they entered with a visa. Yet the second they go outside the US to get their papers fixed, they will get hit with a 10 year penalty for being here without papers. That penalty can be excused in some cases, but only if you can prove extreme hardship to LPR/Citizen spouse or parents, not childern.<BR/><BR/>So in that case, anchor baby pays off at age 31 or so (plus processing time- year or more)<BR/><BR/>The other tragic case is the "Everyone but Juanito" case. I've seen so many families where everyone but one family member has status. A common blend is a family where the oldest child was born in a foreign country but his younger siblings are born in the US. Parents got papers, but the kids are still in process. Then the kid gets arrested for driving without a license, ends up in immigration custody and is screwed. Kid gets deported, freaks out because entire family is in US (and so was he from age 2years or something) and immediately comes back illegaly. Then they get caught and TA DA! Federal Prison time is possible for illegal rentry! Isn't that great!<BR/><BR/>On a different note, there is a huge backlog on citizenship applications because Department of Homeland Security can't get all the background checks approved- some people have been waiting an additional 5+ years. People have resorted to suing to get their citizenship.<BR/><BR/>It's a truly great system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com