After Republicans rejected the immigration bill proposed by Democrats earlier this year, Republicans said Joe Biden needed to do more with his executive power by means of executive orders. Today, he did. Biden announced executive action that will allow qualifying undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without first leaving the country. That’s important because it avoids family separation, even permanent disruption, that can happen if a person leaves the country to apply for residency and is denied reentry. The move could provide deportation protection to hundreds of thousands of people. To qualify, an applicant must have been in the country for ten years and be able to pass a criminal background check. The cut-off date for determining eligibility was last Monday.
His Executive Action allows QUALIFIED undocumented spouses and children of US citizens to apply for LAWFUL permanent residency without leaving the country.
We are an immigrant nation. Although my dad was born in the United States his parents were from Lebanon. They were productive people who worked and paid taxes. My mother came from Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) when she was fifteen with her eldest brother. Both my parents were in the Army. My dad an enlisted officer and my mom a WAC. Thank you President Biden for keeping families together. Joyce, thanks for sharing this wonderful news with us.
Why would they claim Native American ancestry when they look down on Native Americans as lesser and worthless people (if they even consider them people). Just because we were born here doesn't make us "native" in the same sense that the original Americans were. My father was an immigrant as a child, and my mother's side of the family arrived here in 1633, but both were originally immigrants. Full stop.
Sometimes no often when one side says black the other side says white. That’s the way of politics. The incoming leader tears down a project just to install a new one in his name. That’s been going on since antiquity. The ancients hammered off noses of previous leaders thinking that the nose give it life.
Trump the Scoundrel masquerading as a wise ole man will use whatever position that signifies a popular position. Democrats on the other hand, completely have ignored the optics of thousands freely rushing across the border. So I ask you, why would we risk everything in order to let illegals flow into this country? Please don’t count me as anti immigration as so many of you are probably thinking right now. On the contrary, what do we gain by letting a growing untenable situation to occur with the possibility of losing an important election to a dangerous fool.
I can’t figure this one out. I just can’t figure out why we have been so damn thickheaded. So finally Biden invokes an executive order even after his homeland security secretary stated that it (executive order) won’t hold up in court. How… how… how… (I can’t say it cause it would be nasty.
You *cannot* use the adjective "illegal" as a noun in one sentence and claim in the next sentence not to be "anti immigration." Please stop dehumanizing desperate people fleeing lawless or brutally repressive (or both) failed states (especially those for whose failure the US bears major responsibility). Some of us do not accept the characterization "so damn thickheaded" for the belief that we should live up to our obligations under international treaty and statute (and IMO fundamental morality, christian or otherwise) to provide asylum for such people
I can say whatever I want this is an opinion platform. Further, I want to save the republic and you want to slither down the rat hole screaming about how could we lose because we let in millions of ILLEGALS.
Of course you *can*; my mistake. To be more precise, it is a *naked demonstration of hypocrisy* to demonize asylum seekers with an ungrammatical slur while claiming not to be "anti immigration." We share, as you've written on your own page, the "hope that we don’t continue on a path toward nationalistic autocratic governments," but it seems to me that you've either been infected or want to appease those who have been infected with fear of and hatred for desperate non-white people, so maybe we *don't* share what I referred to as "fundamental morality."
You are aware aren’t you that President Biden closed the border and is allowing in strict daily quotas of asylum seekers? I think it’s 2500 per day. This makes sense to me as processing will be eminently easier. Of course the MAGA will still bleat on about “Biden’s open borders”.
Of course the Dems should have taken advantage back when they were able to. At this point there isnt much Biden can do other than attempt an exec. order.
Perhaps in an ideal world where there was compromise between the political parties it would be pretty simple to draft legislation to correct the border mess.
There is no compromise allowed right now. Even with a bipartisan deal - there is no compromise.
The Repubbies have refused to compromise on practically anything* since the advent of the Tea Party. *( with the sole exception of continually kicking the funding can down the road).
The R's have been pitching fits ever Newt Gingrinch days but they refuse to do the job they were elected to do--which is to craft legislation that will help GOVERN this country. They want it ALL their way or absolutely no way. The current republican party is comprised, almost completely, of crying babies, toddlers having tantrums and spineless cowards.
Look at Florida right now. DeSantis went on his immigration hate and they can’t find enough workers to harvest crops, build roads or buildings. So they left and didn’t return. The judge did block his law on transporting immigrants I believe last week but the damage is done. How many of these DACA have successful businesses with their spouse? How many work and contribute to society? I guarantee all of them! How many can’t get that green card due to a criminal history? Maybe 1% and those that got jail time were deported after their sentence I’m sure.
I had a contractor that shored up my foundation on my tiny mountain home and he had 2 crews, one with 5 white boys and one with 5 Hispanics. He said when he does his training he puts the new hires (mostly white boys cause they get lazy) with his Hispanic crew so they could learn about them and vice versa. He was definitely a liberal business owner and I was very impressed. He told me what day they could come out and I said “send me the Hispanic crew”. He did and they were done in about 2 hours and fixed my fridge that the door kept slamming shut! They work so much harder and are very reliable.
I have no problem with giving DACA the opportunity for the green card and we need to speed up the becoming a citizen process. I have no problem giving work permits to those seeking asylum, let them work and support themselves until the judge decides.
Congratulations on your citizenship!!! And... Welcome!!! (I don't know how long you've been here and been citizen.... but I just wanted to say Welcome!)
Brenda, Thank You! I've been a citizen for a very long time now and I don't take democracy for granted at all, unlike a few of my American born friends. The difference between Biden and trump should be obvious to all, surprising to me that it isn't!
I agree on the congratulations, but with citizenship comes responsibility. Voting is one of the most important aspect of being a citizen. I spoken to so many Hispanics as one myself who don't even know the issues and don't care. So many are about getting the shiny objects the US offers, but could care less about the issues.
Rusty, I remember a contractor we used (in Virginia) who had some Mexican employees. They would come to work even on days when the weather was bad, and he routinely had to tell them to go home. I encountered only one Mexican worker who was lazy, on a later construction job - he was a former police officer in Mexico City. And what I see where I live, right on the border with Mexico, is that the people who have jobs really appreciate them, whatever those jobs might happen to be. I believe strongly in immigration.
When I worked as a school administrator we had a sister and brother who were refugees from Afghanistan. They taught themselves English and graduated at the top of their class, excelling in mathematics, For them, being able to go to school was a precious gift.
It's a generalization that hispanics work harder than whites. I live near many hispanics and i have experienced a mixed bag with both white and hispanic men in relation to work ethics. And also find a vast difference between individuals as to how hard someone works despite ethnicity.
It would also help, Rusty to lower the cost to become a citizen. When I became a citizen it cost $25.. Thirty seven years later it cost some Indian friends of mine $750 EACH to become citizens.
That's ridiculous, and I don't see why you need a lawyer, 1967 was before the days of computers so I had to obtain the application form from the post office then, when the post office was still a government agency. I filled out the form mailed it to INS they set up the appointment for testing at which time I paid the $25. At the swearing in ceremony I received my certificate of Citizenship and that was that. Oh I did have to supply a photo (black and white) and much like the passport photo. Except for the oral exam it was a similar experience to applying for a passport. My exam took longer than usual because the agent who performed the exam was a history buff like me and we got into an extended conversation, It was quite a pleasant experience.
I do understand that for persons for whom English is a second language the process might be more difficult, but it sounds to me like immigrants are being ripped off. Surely the expense of reading a paper, processing an exam and printing the certificate hasn't risen 300% in 57 years
My friends son had to get his green card again because it was about to expire. The lawyer needed $1000 and her son had to get all his immunizations again because it’s required within 30 days of the appointment to renew. The doctor needed $500. She was in tears cause she didn’t have the money. I offered to lend it to her but she declined. Somehow she came up with the money and he got renewed. He came as a child of a DV victim and his country of origin isn’t one in South America.
I don't like this post, Rusty, but I appreciate your sending it. I think (it was a long time ago) the green cards had to be renewed every five years, so mine must have been renewed in 1963. I don't honestly remember but I sure did not need an attorney and it could not have cost that much money. I do know 1963 was my first year of eligibility to apply for citizenship. I don't even remember why I didn't apply until 1966 - I do remember applying because I was determined to vote in the 1968 elections.. I received my AA degree in June 1967 so I may have just been to busy with going to school raising my 2 daughter plus my husbands 2 sons from his previous marriage and keeping the house clean and meals prepared.
So much has changed since the 60’s. It started costing so much because of the paperwork and that’s why many have to use immigration attorneys. I’ve seen it cost in lawyer fees well over $5000 and that was the early 2000’s. It’s ridiculous how hard they make it to become a citizen.
First of all Joyce, I received my t-shirts, mugs, and candle today and all scent one t-shirt, will be given as gifts! Thank you for your illustrations and the opportunity to purchase these. Secondly, immigrants are the ones who originally came to this country so I do not get where these white folks think their heritage is from. Obviously, they haven’t checked their DNA with Ancestry yet. We are reliant on immigrants, as you stated, for agriculture, landscaping, roadwork, fashion, science, the law, music, poetry, books, teachings, nursing, doctoring, for military service, etc… My parents were so grateful to be welcomed to America, the land of the free and the brave, after escaping the Nazis. They wanted to give back and they did. My dad enlisted in the Army and served 4 years in the Pacific Theater before marrying my mom who worked 3 jobs, sharing an apartment with her brother and sister in her lower east side of NYC. What Biden did today was to give the R’s a nice FU. He and his staff are figuring out ways to go around and through the criminals before they slice & dice this move. I hope to see him do it more often. Long Live the Dreamers!
If we weren’t already impressed with Joyce’s scholarship and writing, we have all the more reason with her citing Dietrich Bonhoeffer‘s “cheap grace.”
Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who courageously spoke out against the rising Nazification starting in 1932 , continued his public and underground resistance through his arrest in 1943, and was executed by hanging in 1945.
Except Bonhoeffer's "cheap grace" citation was not Joyce's, it was contained within Project 2025 and co-opted by the other side to argue against "open borders."
"In international gatherings, Bonhoeffer rallied people to oppose the Nationalist Deutsche Christen movement, and its attempt to amalgamate Nazi nationalism with Christianity." It is stunning that THE USA is now so close to where Nazi Germany was 80 years ago. Bonhoeffer was murdered only 7 years before I was born. God (the real one) help us all. We have work to do. (Thanks for this reference, Ellie.)
I am a first-generation American on my mother's side: she was born in the Ukraine and emigrated here as an 8-year old with her family in 1924, escaping from pogroms. And my story is by no means unusual.
I am happy to know that President Biden is working to keep families together. In that fiasco during the 45th president's term, the administration deliberately separated families, apparently to try to discourage other immigrants from heading to The North. I was sure that was Stephen Miller's evil plan. Imagine the heartache of families torn apart. President Biden is [edit:] far more compassionate than [edit:} his predecessor regarding our southern border. One would think that the wealthiest nation could afford to deal with immigration in an efficient and compassionate and welcoming manner.
We live in Racine, where the former president spoke today. We heard sirens that sounded different from the usual sirens, so we guessed it was the motorcade. The sound was coming from the south, and the event venue is to our north about a mile. We walked south half a block so we could see the motorcade, either to the west, or to the east toward The Lake. It became clear that they would pass to the east of us, so we headed in that direction. We were half a block away when the motorcade passed by heading north. It consisted of Sheriff's Deputies on motorcycles, widely spaced, and three or four of those black armored vehicles they use. It seemed to us that the sirens were to attract attention, for the benefit of the Big Ego. That lasted two or three minutes. On our way back to our house we encountered one of our neighbors, from the other side of the block, with whom we share a backyard fence. We seldom have opportunities to visit with each other. But on this occasion, our conversation went on, and she invited us to tour her house, which was the first time for us. We had the best time, talked and laughed for a full hour. We are all about the same age, and we have similar political views. As we were leaving, another neighbor emerged from her house. She and her family live next door to the south of our adjacent neighbor. We have had conversations over the years, but too seldom run into each other. We talked with her for half an hour or so. and had a lively conversation. We are also politically aligned.
It occurred to me to say to both women that we finally found some use for the 45th president, in bringing us out of our homes to get together and visit in the neighborhood. We think there may have been some kind of karmic balancing going on, with our delightful visits with our neighbors, and the magas who want to deport people. Our friendly interactions with our neighbors was surely more powerful than the negative energy of the maga crowd.
I agree with you that it was most likely Stephen Miller's plan. And I'm glad to hear that you were able to get together with your neighbors and enjoy each other. I would disagree with you on one point, based on what my former math teacher husband would point out, and that is that infinitely more than nothing is still nothing. So I would recommend saying that Biden is compassionate, where trump isn't at all. Compassionate is enough of a comparison.
I remember Trump's ICE goons rounding up people who had been in the US for 20 years, leaving their families behind as they were deported. Imagine owning a business and a home, having kids in high school, and not being offered any means to apply for legal residency.
My thinking exactly? What about her parents? Are any of them "the best and the brightest"? She is nothing but literally a "model, trophy wife". She has added no value except as arm candy.
I had some work done the trees on my property recently. All the guys were speaking spanish and after working non stop for hours, their families showed up to bring lunch. The sat in the shade and shared time together which the kids ran around. I thought how could people think this wrong, why do people hate what they don't understand? A political party based on hating the "other" has run its course. It is fine when they are the minority and there are adults to run the government, but we have seen how this group of clowns runs a state (Kansas) and the federal government (tfg). These are lessons, don't give them the keys, everyone deserves a chance to succeed in this country.
What a relief it must be for undocumented persons who have been livIng and working here for years with a constant fear of being deported hanging over them. I pray that this executive order stands, because not only is it humane and in concert with what the USA used to stand for but necessary for a stable and improved economy.
As of May, 2024, the WP reported there are still 1200 of the original 4400 separated children, still not reunited with their families since 2018 from the heartless separation at the border during the Trump administration. Unconscionable!!!
Any informed, compassionate citizen would have a problem with this, except for the kool-aid drinking Trump loyalists. 😡
Not really he is just an ass of epic proportions. The republicans who blindly support his criminal and other illegal activity are the monsters. They are hateful to and about America. They didn’t create Trump but allows his depravity. They should pay a price.
IMO, trump loyalists are neither informed nor compassionate. They are just out for themselves, even the ones who aren't rich. I am grateful for the fact that most of our citizenry understands the value of immigrants.
I still feel sick when I think of the children that the trump administration callously ripped from their parents' arms. Heartless and cruel doesn't begin to describe what they did. To make matters worse, they didn't keep records that would allow much needed reunification.
One more reason to keep trump out of the White House. (Like we need another reason).
Project 2025 is counter to every single thing America stands for.
If trump is re-elected and this plan goes into place, we will all suffer.
Kudos to Biden, once again, for doing what he can when Congress, prompted by trump, wouldn't.
What Trump did to those children is a clear showing of what he will do if he gets elected again. He wants to lock up "disloyal" people. What Trump showed in losing those kids is that he will disappear people and not think twice about it.
We must use civil discourse to help people understand how immigrants help our economy. Jerome Powell, who is not a political appointee, sets Ted, our economy is recovering more rapidly than any other economy in the world because of immigrants. When Trump during the pandemic limited Visas to those in the hospitality and cultural/education sectors, we struggled as a country to fill those jobs as the country was exiting the pandemic. Joe Biden restored those Visa thresholds. Thanks Joyce for educating us!
Thank you for talking about the true role of immigrants as part of our society. Those of us who are not descended from immigrants, or are not immigrants are the original people, who are not granted rights in Trump's world anyway.
Yes indeed we are all immigrants!Whether you just got here,or your immigrant ancestors got here in the 1600s(like some of mine did)then you are of immigrants.
Then there are the Tribal Nations,who have by proof of anthropology,been here for literally 1000s of years,some longer than Ancient Egypt! Meso American people were here long before any European set foot in North,Central or South America,and look what the Europeans did to them,and are still doing right this minute.
My Cherokee ancestors were called
"savages",but the white folks were the actual savages.And we are not"Indians",that was a mistake of Columbus,who thought he was in India in 1492.We are not from SE Asia,but the Americas.He had no idea of the existence of and of the Americas,until he crashed into it.
We are all human beings, allegedly made in God's image,and hatred is a horrid thing to be towards any human.Period.
I couldn't agree with you more about the whites being the savages. I've been reading a lot of books by N. Scott Momaday, of the Kiowa tribe, and what I've seen from him and from other books I've read (such as Empire of the Summer Moon), we have missed out on a lot of good things the real natives have to offer. I especially like the idea that everything on this planet has spirit. I also really like the way the natives interacted with creatures like the bison, with whom they developed a relationship. In addition, I had an amazing experience at our local state park where there are many ancient pictographs. I was studying one of them one day, and I was suddenly able to see that it was alive. Even though it was many hundreds of years old and starting to fade, the spirit that was painted into it was still alive. A very powerful experience, which reinforces the idea that we should not underestimate the native cultures.
Thanks for ending on a chuckle about your "stolen" shirt, and I've started reading Project 2025 about an hour ago. As you say, some incredible claims being made along with the hypocrisy .. and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to stomach reading all of it, but maybe in small increments - on p. 62 of 920 pages, but some of those have been blank pages.
So good to see President Biden taking action today. "Biden announced executive action that will allow qualifying undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without first leaving the country."
As the son of an immigrant of 78 years ago, the grandson of two other immigrants of 124 years ago and the husband of a third of 49 years ago, I approve this column. This economically sound, administratively sensible, and compassionate series of orders is going to make the MAGAts freak.
On a completely unrelated note, are there any plans to make CD merch available to those of us who live in Hawaii?
It will probably make the MAGAs apoplectic because 1.) It's a good idea and 2.) The president did a beneficial thing for people they couldn't block and ruin.
President Biden keeping families together.
Note to MAGA:
His Executive Action allows QUALIFIED undocumented spouses and children of US citizens to apply for LAWFUL permanent residency without leaving the country.
We are an immigrant nation. Although my dad was born in the United States his parents were from Lebanon. They were productive people who worked and paid taxes. My mother came from Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) when she was fifteen with her eldest brother. Both my parents were in the Army. My dad an enlisted officer and my mom a WAC. Thank you President Biden for keeping families together. Joyce, thanks for sharing this wonderful news with us.
You have to wonder about these Rs (mainly) do they think either they just sprang from nowhere OR do they all claim Native American ancestry?
The same old, I've got mine - who cares about anyone else!
Why would they claim Native American ancestry when they look down on Native Americans as lesser and worthless people (if they even consider them people). Just because we were born here doesn't make us "native" in the same sense that the original Americans were. My father was an immigrant as a child, and my mother's side of the family arrived here in 1633, but both were originally immigrants. Full stop.
Obviously - we all come from immigrants. That fact seems to elude these Rs.
Sometimes no often when one side says black the other side says white. That’s the way of politics. The incoming leader tears down a project just to install a new one in his name. That’s been going on since antiquity. The ancients hammered off noses of previous leaders thinking that the nose give it life.
Trump the Scoundrel masquerading as a wise ole man will use whatever position that signifies a popular position. Democrats on the other hand, completely have ignored the optics of thousands freely rushing across the border. So I ask you, why would we risk everything in order to let illegals flow into this country? Please don’t count me as anti immigration as so many of you are probably thinking right now. On the contrary, what do we gain by letting a growing untenable situation to occur with the possibility of losing an important election to a dangerous fool.
I can’t figure this one out. I just can’t figure out why we have been so damn thickheaded. So finally Biden invokes an executive order even after his homeland security secretary stated that it (executive order) won’t hold up in court. How… how… how… (I can’t say it cause it would be nasty.
You *cannot* use the adjective "illegal" as a noun in one sentence and claim in the next sentence not to be "anti immigration." Please stop dehumanizing desperate people fleeing lawless or brutally repressive (or both) failed states (especially those for whose failure the US bears major responsibility). Some of us do not accept the characterization "so damn thickheaded" for the belief that we should live up to our obligations under international treaty and statute (and IMO fundamental morality, christian or otherwise) to provide asylum for such people
I can say whatever I want this is an opinion platform. Further, I want to save the republic and you want to slither down the rat hole screaming about how could we lose because we let in millions of ILLEGALS.
Of course you *can*; my mistake. To be more precise, it is a *naked demonstration of hypocrisy* to demonize asylum seekers with an ungrammatical slur while claiming not to be "anti immigration." We share, as you've written on your own page, the "hope that we don’t continue on a path toward nationalistic autocratic governments," but it seems to me that you've either been infected or want to appease those who have been infected with fear of and hatred for desperate non-white people, so maybe we *don't* share what I referred to as "fundamental morality."
Take a pill by pill. It will do you good. I’ve met your kind before. Living in a make believe world.
You are aware aren’t you that President Biden closed the border and is allowing in strict daily quotas of asylum seekers? I think it’s 2500 per day. This makes sense to me as processing will be eminently easier. Of course the MAGA will still bleat on about “Biden’s open borders”.
Of course the Dems should have taken advantage back when they were able to. At this point there isnt much Biden can do other than attempt an exec. order.
Perhaps in an ideal world where there was compromise between the political parties it would be pretty simple to draft legislation to correct the border mess.
There is no compromise allowed right now. Even with a bipartisan deal - there is no compromise.
The Repubbies have refused to compromise on practically anything* since the advent of the Tea Party. *( with the sole exception of continually kicking the funding can down the road).
The R's have been pitching fits ever Newt Gingrinch days but they refuse to do the job they were elected to do--which is to craft legislation that will help GOVERN this country. They want it ALL their way or absolutely no way. The current republican party is comprised, almost completely, of crying babies, toddlers having tantrums and spineless cowards.
👍
Look at Florida right now. DeSantis went on his immigration hate and they can’t find enough workers to harvest crops, build roads or buildings. So they left and didn’t return. The judge did block his law on transporting immigrants I believe last week but the damage is done. How many of these DACA have successful businesses with their spouse? How many work and contribute to society? I guarantee all of them! How many can’t get that green card due to a criminal history? Maybe 1% and those that got jail time were deported after their sentence I’m sure.
I had a contractor that shored up my foundation on my tiny mountain home and he had 2 crews, one with 5 white boys and one with 5 Hispanics. He said when he does his training he puts the new hires (mostly white boys cause they get lazy) with his Hispanic crew so they could learn about them and vice versa. He was definitely a liberal business owner and I was very impressed. He told me what day they could come out and I said “send me the Hispanic crew”. He did and they were done in about 2 hours and fixed my fridge that the door kept slamming shut! They work so much harder and are very reliable.
I have no problem with giving DACA the opportunity for the green card and we need to speed up the becoming a citizen process. I have no problem giving work permits to those seeking asylum, let them work and support themselves until the judge decides.
Every time the media mentions Trump and immigration, the predicate should be that Trump was the poster boy for employer sanctions, fined by DOL for using undocumented Polish workers on his job sites. https://time.com/5039109/donald-trump-undocumented-polish-trump-tower-bonwit-teller/
He still uses temporary visa workers on his properties to displace American workers.
He’s also used undocumented Hispanics in his NJ club. Remember that one? She filed a harassment lawsuit.
Billboard, anyone? Seems to me this one would write itself!! Large letters, too.
...and pay taxes like I did from the first week I was (lawfully) in the US and now I' m a citizen.
Congratulations on your citizenship!!! And... Welcome!!! (I don't know how long you've been here and been citizen.... but I just wanted to say Welcome!)
Brenda, Thank You! I've been a citizen for a very long time now and I don't take democracy for granted at all, unlike a few of my American born friends. The difference between Biden and trump should be obvious to all, surprising to me that it isn't!
I agree on the congratulations, but with citizenship comes responsibility. Voting is one of the most important aspect of being a citizen. I spoken to so many Hispanics as one myself who don't even know the issues and don't care. So many are about getting the shiny objects the US offers, but could care less about the issues.
Rusty, I remember a contractor we used (in Virginia) who had some Mexican employees. They would come to work even on days when the weather was bad, and he routinely had to tell them to go home. I encountered only one Mexican worker who was lazy, on a later construction job - he was a former police officer in Mexico City. And what I see where I live, right on the border with Mexico, is that the people who have jobs really appreciate them, whatever those jobs might happen to be. I believe strongly in immigration.
When I worked as a school administrator we had a sister and brother who were refugees from Afghanistan. They taught themselves English and graduated at the top of their class, excelling in mathematics, For them, being able to go to school was a precious gift.
Clearly they were smart, unlike the magats.
And unlike most American students who would rather play with their cell phones than learn.
It's a generalization that hispanics work harder than whites. I live near many hispanics and i have experienced a mixed bag with both white and hispanic men in relation to work ethics. And also find a vast difference between individuals as to how hard someone works despite ethnicity.
It would also help, Rusty to lower the cost to become a citizen. When I became a citizen it cost $25.. Thirty seven years later it cost some Indian friends of mine $750 EACH to become citizens.
And to become a UK citizen, it costs 1,580 pounds, or 2,009 U.S. dollars.
And it’s over $5000 now and that’s just the lawyer fee.
That's ridiculous, and I don't see why you need a lawyer, 1967 was before the days of computers so I had to obtain the application form from the post office then, when the post office was still a government agency. I filled out the form mailed it to INS they set up the appointment for testing at which time I paid the $25. At the swearing in ceremony I received my certificate of Citizenship and that was that. Oh I did have to supply a photo (black and white) and much like the passport photo. Except for the oral exam it was a similar experience to applying for a passport. My exam took longer than usual because the agent who performed the exam was a history buff like me and we got into an extended conversation, It was quite a pleasant experience.
I do understand that for persons for whom English is a second language the process might be more difficult, but it sounds to me like immigrants are being ripped off. Surely the expense of reading a paper, processing an exam and printing the certificate hasn't risen 300% in 57 years
My friends son had to get his green card again because it was about to expire. The lawyer needed $1000 and her son had to get all his immunizations again because it’s required within 30 days of the appointment to renew. The doctor needed $500. She was in tears cause she didn’t have the money. I offered to lend it to her but she declined. Somehow she came up with the money and he got renewed. He came as a child of a DV victim and his country of origin isn’t one in South America.
I don't like this post, Rusty, but I appreciate your sending it. I think (it was a long time ago) the green cards had to be renewed every five years, so mine must have been renewed in 1963. I don't honestly remember but I sure did not need an attorney and it could not have cost that much money. I do know 1963 was my first year of eligibility to apply for citizenship. I don't even remember why I didn't apply until 1966 - I do remember applying because I was determined to vote in the 1968 elections.. I received my AA degree in June 1967 so I may have just been to busy with going to school raising my 2 daughter plus my husbands 2 sons from his previous marriage and keeping the house clean and meals prepared.
So much has changed since the 60’s. It started costing so much because of the paperwork and that’s why many have to use immigration attorneys. I’ve seen it cost in lawyer fees well over $5000 and that was the early 2000’s. It’s ridiculous how hard they make it to become a citizen.
First of all Joyce, I received my t-shirts, mugs, and candle today and all scent one t-shirt, will be given as gifts! Thank you for your illustrations and the opportunity to purchase these. Secondly, immigrants are the ones who originally came to this country so I do not get where these white folks think their heritage is from. Obviously, they haven’t checked their DNA with Ancestry yet. We are reliant on immigrants, as you stated, for agriculture, landscaping, roadwork, fashion, science, the law, music, poetry, books, teachings, nursing, doctoring, for military service, etc… My parents were so grateful to be welcomed to America, the land of the free and the brave, after escaping the Nazis. They wanted to give back and they did. My dad enlisted in the Army and served 4 years in the Pacific Theater before marrying my mom who worked 3 jobs, sharing an apartment with her brother and sister in her lower east side of NYC. What Biden did today was to give the R’s a nice FU. He and his staff are figuring out ways to go around and through the criminals before they slice & dice this move. I hope to see him do it more often. Long Live the Dreamers!
Ha ha!!!! Love this: what Biden did today was give the "...R's a nice FU..."!!!!! Love it!!
If we weren’t already impressed with Joyce’s scholarship and writing, we have all the more reason with her citing Dietrich Bonhoeffer‘s “cheap grace.”
Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who courageously spoke out against the rising Nazification starting in 1932 , continued his public and underground resistance through his arrest in 1943, and was executed by hanging in 1945.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer
Except Bonhoeffer's "cheap grace" citation was not Joyce's, it was contained within Project 2025 and co-opted by the other side to argue against "open borders."
Yikes, thank you for the clarification.
Thanks, Ellie, for posting this about Bonhoeffer. I completely missed Joyce’s reference to him.
"In international gatherings, Bonhoeffer rallied people to oppose the Nationalist Deutsche Christen movement, and its attempt to amalgamate Nazi nationalism with Christianity." It is stunning that THE USA is now so close to where Nazi Germany was 80 years ago. Bonhoeffer was murdered only 7 years before I was born. God (the real one) help us all. We have work to do. (Thanks for this reference, Ellie.)
And ironic that Bonhoeffer was a courageous resister against the Nazis, but as reader Barbara Green noted,
Bonhoeffer's "cheap grace" citation was contained in Project 2025 and co-opted to argue against "open borders."
I am a first-generation American on my mother's side: she was born in the Ukraine and emigrated here as an 8-year old with her family in 1924, escaping from pogroms. And my story is by no means unusual.
I am happy to know that President Biden is working to keep families together. In that fiasco during the 45th president's term, the administration deliberately separated families, apparently to try to discourage other immigrants from heading to The North. I was sure that was Stephen Miller's evil plan. Imagine the heartache of families torn apart. President Biden is [edit:] far more compassionate than [edit:} his predecessor regarding our southern border. One would think that the wealthiest nation could afford to deal with immigration in an efficient and compassionate and welcoming manner.
We live in Racine, where the former president spoke today. We heard sirens that sounded different from the usual sirens, so we guessed it was the motorcade. The sound was coming from the south, and the event venue is to our north about a mile. We walked south half a block so we could see the motorcade, either to the west, or to the east toward The Lake. It became clear that they would pass to the east of us, so we headed in that direction. We were half a block away when the motorcade passed by heading north. It consisted of Sheriff's Deputies on motorcycles, widely spaced, and three or four of those black armored vehicles they use. It seemed to us that the sirens were to attract attention, for the benefit of the Big Ego. That lasted two or three minutes. On our way back to our house we encountered one of our neighbors, from the other side of the block, with whom we share a backyard fence. We seldom have opportunities to visit with each other. But on this occasion, our conversation went on, and she invited us to tour her house, which was the first time for us. We had the best time, talked and laughed for a full hour. We are all about the same age, and we have similar political views. As we were leaving, another neighbor emerged from her house. She and her family live next door to the south of our adjacent neighbor. We have had conversations over the years, but too seldom run into each other. We talked with her for half an hour or so. and had a lively conversation. We are also politically aligned.
It occurred to me to say to both women that we finally found some use for the 45th president, in bringing us out of our homes to get together and visit in the neighborhood. We think there may have been some kind of karmic balancing going on, with our delightful visits with our neighbors, and the magas who want to deport people. Our friendly interactions with our neighbors was surely more powerful than the negative energy of the maga crowd.
I agree with you that it was most likely Stephen Miller's plan. And I'm glad to hear that you were able to get together with your neighbors and enjoy each other. I would disagree with you on one point, based on what my former math teacher husband would point out, and that is that infinitely more than nothing is still nothing. So I would recommend saying that Biden is compassionate, where trump isn't at all. Compassionate is enough of a comparison.
Susan, point well taken!
Thank you, David!
I remember Trump's ICE goons rounding up people who had been in the US for 20 years, leaving their families behind as they were deported. Imagine owning a business and a home, having kids in high school, and not being offered any means to apply for legal residency.
“…chain migration should be ended.…” Melania?
My thinking exactly? What about her parents? Are any of them "the best and the brightest"? She is nothing but literally a "model, trophy wife". She has added no value except as arm candy.
And sleazy photos.
I had some work done the trees on my property recently. All the guys were speaking spanish and after working non stop for hours, their families showed up to bring lunch. The sat in the shade and shared time together which the kids ran around. I thought how could people think this wrong, why do people hate what they don't understand? A political party based on hating the "other" has run its course. It is fine when they are the minority and there are adults to run the government, but we have seen how this group of clowns runs a state (Kansas) and the federal government (tfg). These are lessons, don't give them the keys, everyone deserves a chance to succeed in this country.
What a relief it must be for undocumented persons who have been livIng and working here for years with a constant fear of being deported hanging over them. I pray that this executive order stands, because not only is it humane and in concert with what the USA used to stand for but necessary for a stable and improved economy.
As of May, 2024, the WP reported there are still 1200 of the original 4400 separated children, still not reunited with their families since 2018 from the heartless separation at the border during the Trump administration. Unconscionable!!!
Any informed, compassionate citizen would have a problem with this, except for the kool-aid drinking Trump loyalists. 😡
Trump is a monster.
Not really he is just an ass of epic proportions. The republicans who blindly support his criminal and other illegal activity are the monsters. They are hateful to and about America. They didn’t create Trump but allows his depravity. They should pay a price.
IMO, trump loyalists are neither informed nor compassionate. They are just out for themselves, even the ones who aren't rich. I am grateful for the fact that most of our citizenry understands the value of immigrants.
Republican's who are informed racists and attempting to make this a Christian Nationalist country are monsters too,
Completely agree!
😡😡💔
Miller and that Keebler Sessions must be imprisoned for this!!
We can hope!
I still feel sick when I think of the children that the trump administration callously ripped from their parents' arms. Heartless and cruel doesn't begin to describe what they did. To make matters worse, they didn't keep records that would allow much needed reunification.
One more reason to keep trump out of the White House. (Like we need another reason).
Project 2025 is counter to every single thing America stands for.
If trump is re-elected and this plan goes into place, we will all suffer.
Kudos to Biden, once again, for doing what he can when Congress, prompted by trump, wouldn't.
What Trump did to those children is a clear showing of what he will do if he gets elected again. He wants to lock up "disloyal" people. What Trump showed in losing those kids is that he will disappear people and not think twice about it.
Very scary!
We must use civil discourse to help people understand how immigrants help our economy. Jerome Powell, who is not a political appointee, sets Ted, our economy is recovering more rapidly than any other economy in the world because of immigrants. When Trump during the pandemic limited Visas to those in the hospitality and cultural/education sectors, we struggled as a country to fill those jobs as the country was exiting the pandemic. Joe Biden restored those Visa thresholds. Thanks Joyce for educating us!
Thank you for talking about the true role of immigrants as part of our society. Those of us who are not descended from immigrants, or are not immigrants are the original people, who are not granted rights in Trump's world anyway.
Yes indeed we are all immigrants!Whether you just got here,or your immigrant ancestors got here in the 1600s(like some of mine did)then you are of immigrants.
Then there are the Tribal Nations,who have by proof of anthropology,been here for literally 1000s of years,some longer than Ancient Egypt! Meso American people were here long before any European set foot in North,Central or South America,and look what the Europeans did to them,and are still doing right this minute.
My Cherokee ancestors were called
"savages",but the white folks were the actual savages.And we are not"Indians",that was a mistake of Columbus,who thought he was in India in 1492.We are not from SE Asia,but the Americas.He had no idea of the existence of and of the Americas,until he crashed into it.
We are all human beings, allegedly made in God's image,and hatred is a horrid thing to be towards any human.Period.
I couldn't agree with you more about the whites being the savages. I've been reading a lot of books by N. Scott Momaday, of the Kiowa tribe, and what I've seen from him and from other books I've read (such as Empire of the Summer Moon), we have missed out on a lot of good things the real natives have to offer. I especially like the idea that everything on this planet has spirit. I also really like the way the natives interacted with creatures like the bison, with whom they developed a relationship. In addition, I had an amazing experience at our local state park where there are many ancient pictographs. I was studying one of them one day, and I was suddenly able to see that it was alive. Even though it was many hundreds of years old and starting to fade, the spirit that was painted into it was still alive. A very powerful experience, which reinforces the idea that we should not underestimate the native cultures.
Thanks for ending on a chuckle about your "stolen" shirt, and I've started reading Project 2025 about an hour ago. As you say, some incredible claims being made along with the hypocrisy .. and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to stomach reading all of it, but maybe in small increments - on p. 62 of 920 pages, but some of those have been blank pages.
So good to see President Biden taking action today. "Biden announced executive action that will allow qualifying undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residency without first leaving the country."
You might find this site helpful: https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/unpacking-the-propaganda
It is! Thanks for this link!
Thank you for this link.
"We have a do-nothing Congress, but the President is at work." Democrats need to use this line throughout the campaign!
As the son of an immigrant of 78 years ago, the grandson of two other immigrants of 124 years ago and the husband of a third of 49 years ago, I approve this column. This economically sound, administratively sensible, and compassionate series of orders is going to make the MAGAts freak.
On a completely unrelated note, are there any plans to make CD merch available to those of us who live in Hawaii?
This is important! Will we even hear about it in the "news" I wonder. Thank you, Joyce, for highlighting the President's initiative for us.
I checked NPR's website, skeptical that they'd even have a mention, but at the bottom of the index page there is a short story, here: https://www.npr.org/2024/06/18/g-s1-4918/parole-immigration-biden-undocumented-deportation
It will probably make the MAGAs apoplectic because 1.) It's a good idea and 2.) The president did a beneficial thing for people they couldn't block and ruin.
Good. 😂
Chain Migration??? Like Melania's parents??? Send them back???