Exiled Citizens

It's not a secret I am into politics. On facebook, I am in a few groups. I came across Margot and my heart breaks for her. I’m not going to share her specific story. But, I will talk about her general story.

There are a lot of people like her. Legal American citizens or permanent residents forced to move to other countries because their spouse isn’t a citizen or permanent resident. Told there is a way they can return to American someday. But, when that day comes, told they can never return.

It’s something I never knew was possible. I assumed if an immigrant married a US Citizen that they would never be tossed out of the country. Isn’t that why INS does all of those inspections and has all of those meetings with couples? To make sure the marriage is real and not just a way for the immigrant spouse to stay in the country?

Below is the blog post I did on Immigration reform. It’s from three years ago. But, in it, I talk about Green Cards, Permanent Visas, and Temporary Visas. In all of these rants against illegal immigrants one thing is forgotten. Most of these immigrants enter the country legally with Temporary Visas. They become illegal when these Visas expire. They may have applied for a Permanent Visa or a Green Card, but, that takes years to get approved.

http://homewithmommy-fran.blogspot.com/2014/04/basics-of-immigration-reform.html

 

Margot volunteers for American Families United. It’s goal is to reunite families that have been separated because of the current immigration law. Below is directly from their website:

 

the issue

Our immigration laws unfairly punish and separate the spouses and families of U.S. citizens. The myth of a streamlined process for US Citizens to attain a green card for their spouse is one that is widely held and is completely false. Under current law, administrative violations by a US Citizens immigrant spouse can result in 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, or even lifetime bars from the United States which is devastating for families. Even more surprising, since 1996, these cases have been largely void of any judicial or agency discretion or judgment. Due process for US citizen families is denied, one of the few areas of the American legal system where this is so. As U.S. Citizens who desire to live, work, and raise our families in our own country, we find this unjust and unacceptable. AFU’s mission is to educate and to work towards legislative change that reverses this little known, but grossly inequitable treatment of U.S. citizens.

http://www.americanfamiliesunited.org/

 

They introduced Bill H.R. 1036. This is to change the law to be more like what I thought the law actually was. I’m probably not the only one that thought that you become a permanent legal resident by  marrying a citizen.

I hope this law passes. We aren’t just exiling immigrants. We are exiling American citizens too. That’s not alright. We need to rewrite how we handle everything about immigration. What we have doesn’t fix the problems and creates new ones. Let’s support this. And help Margot and her family make it home.