I may have been born and raised in America, but I have an immigration story, too.
My grandma fled post-World War II Denmark with her family after the Nazis finally turned tail in May of 1945. After 3 tense years of uneasy collaboration and 2 of direct resistance against occupation, Denmark was exhausted, and so was my family. So, they came here; because my grandma was a minor at the time, her processing was pretty simple. She received papers, a social security number, and became a citizen of the United States just like thousands of others did during the post-war era.
Fast forward 45 or so years, and there’s a problem with my grandma’s social security paperwork; not just a little problem, but a major problem that took two years, hours of travel time, and thousands of dollars to solve. Somewhere along the line, some bureaucrat in a cube in Chicago had dotted an “i” instead of crossing a “t,” and now it was my grandma’s responsibility to prove that her social security number was valid, and that she was indeed a citizen.
The moral of the story is, our immigration system needs an overhaul. It does not, however, need the overhaul that Obama is planning.
Tonight, President Obama will sit himself down in front of a camera and lay out a 10 point plan he insists will “fix our broken immigration system.” It will do no such thing, but amnesty advocates around the country are preparing their flocks for what they believe will be a lifechanging announcement.
From the Washington Times:
At Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, which makes immigration a special ministry, Pastor Emma Lozano said she’ll he sitting alongside people who are currently facing deportation as they hear what the president lays out.“We’re going to be watching this very closely, people in my church. We’re going to have the TV on in both languages and really praying and hoping we get what we deserve,” she told The Washington Times.Casa, a major immigrant-rights group based in Maryland and Virginia, plans three screening parties, while the New York Immigration Coalition announced three parties around the Big Apple.“The president will detail his plans to take executive action to provide administrative relief to millions of immigrants,” the New York group said. “We expect such relief to be a program that offers a temporary solution for millions of families and workers around the country, offering protection from deportation and work authorization.”
Maybe Emma shouldn’t pray too hard about what those facing deportation may or may not deserve, all things considered.
It’s times like this when I grow weary of advocates’ stories of people “living in the shadows.” They’re doing no such thing; because of what Obama is doing, those who once hid are coming willingly out of the shadows to celebrate freedom not from an unjust system, but from the consequences of their actions.
The impending “overhaul” is seen not as a shocking development but as an entitlement whose time has come. Those who plan to cheer tonight do a great disservice to the thousands of people who fought tooth and nail to come to the United States legally, and who see their citizenship as a well-earned blessing.
We will be covering tonight’s announcement here at Legal Insurrection. Check the homepage at 8 Eastern.
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