Lament of a Legal
Alien
If I had come here illegally and married my
wife, a U.S. citizen, I'd have a green card by now.
By Manmeet Singh in the
Wall Street Journal
Fayette, Miss.
My desire to come to
the United States was born out of ambition, not desperation. I stood in every
line there was, beginning at the U.S. Embassy in my native India and then here,
filled out every form that needed to be filled out, and made copies and
certified copies of all the documents that were needed to prove that I was who
I said I was.
At every point I was
warned that if I lied or falsified information or tried to find work other than
the job I was authorized to do in the U.S. there would be serious consequences.
In particular I was warned about the rather grave repercussions if I chose to
stay here illegally.
I was impressed with
the United States' laws and those who enforced them. I felt that if I had to
stand in line so did the others and that the process was fair to everyone. I
did a whole lot of waiting, filled out lots of forms, got photographed and
fingerprinted and waited some more to be called a "legal alien
physician."
I have been here for
seven years and have been married to a U.S. citizen for a little over three
years. The reason I am still on a visa is that I signed a clause with the U.S.
government that said that I would work in a medically underserved area for a
total of three years after my medical-residency training here, and that I
wouldn't be able to wiggle out of this commitment even if I married a U.S.
citizen. My wife and I often joke that if I came here illegally and married her
then I would at least have had a green card by now.
Such laughs aside,
over the past two years I have watched the immigration debate with fascination
and a sense of utter helplessness. The helplessness stems from the fact that as
a "legal alien" I have absolutely no voice in this discussion. People
like me do not represent a vote bank, and politicians assume (correctly!) that
I will continue to work diligently and not question the laws in place.
People in my situation
also probably represent the most law-abiding segment of the population. Any
skirmish with the law—even one not involving violence—can result in loss of
working privileges and possible deportation. A recent article in The New York Times about how legal immigrants' applications are being
stalled because the officials who process files are overwhelmed with
applications for deportation deferrals was a stinging slap in the face to all
of those who chose to do the right thing and get here by following the rules.
What is really
surprising is that, in a nation that prides itself on being a nation of laws,
the enforcers of the law are told to deliberately look away when it comes to
illegal immigration. Also the politically correct term now is undocumented
rather than illegal. I for one—after being fingerprinted, photographed,
inquired about in detail every time I re-enter the U.S.—know for sure that
being undocumented is illegal.
As an
"alien," I have always been and always will be extremely grateful for
the education that I have received and the opportunity to work and live in the
U.S. In return I have been a good citizen (well, not exactly a citizen), paid
my taxes, paid immigration attorneys and stayed on top of the paperwork. I have
done so because I realize how important the legal process is and I have nothing
but respect and reverence for the law of the land.
As the debate in
Washington and the media centers on the plight of willful wrongdoers, America's
reputation as a nation of laws and as a nation of immigrants is at stake here.
Making the law-abiders feel discounted would not have rested well with the
Founding Fathers either.
Dr. Singh practices
internal medicine in Jefferson County, Miss.
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