Place your ear as close as you can to this paper and you may
actually hear the heavy whooshing sound of 1.1 million people
falling through the cracks.
And that was just last year, according to the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services Web site.
Even though the immigration issue is very nuanced, all we hear
about in California (and really, in the United States) is the issue
of undocumented immigrants. Not much is said about the problems of
permanent residents.
“I think of Ellis Island and people in boats,”
replied Jacqueline Jung, a second-year business economics student,
when I asked her what the word “immigrant” makes her
think of.
“The first image that comes to mind is someone that
can’t speak English, can’t communicate with the rest of
us,” said second-year undeclared life science student Helen
Nguyen.
Permanent residents are the most highly camouflaged population
of the United States.
Most people who know me aren’t aware that I am a part of
this group of people that the U.S. government classifies as people
who have the security clearance to remain and work here
indefinitely.
They come from all walks of life: some are highly educated,
others came here with their parents to study at an American
university and some have been here since early childhood,
identifying primarily with American culture.
They are the chameleons of American society, blending into the
American landscape and receiving their cultural citizenship after
years of Fourth of Julys and Thanksgivings.
And for them, a green card opens up all the exalted rights
passed out by Uncle Sam. But there are exceptions to these
rights.
“Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery,”
said Jack Paar, a charismatic host of The Tonight Show in the
1950s.
Permanent residents in the United States are taxed just like
citizens. However, they are not allowed to run for public office,
vote in national elections, or have input about where their tax
dollars go.
In fact, if a permanent resident was to vote in a national
election, he could face deportation. Countries such as the United
Kingdom and New Zealand allow permanent residents to vote and their
democracies aren’t exactly falling to pieces.
Flash back to eighth-grade history class, with images of a
robust Sam Adams brandishing “No Taxation without
Representation” signs. Similar issues, same land, still
relevant.
The fine line between the two groups rests in documents such as
the U.S. passport. American citizens can move with greater ease
over the globe than passport holders of some other countries.
And for college students who are also permanent residents, they
face many difficulties because of their status.
Last week, I went to the career center looking for certain
internships abroad when I noticed that many programs are not
available to permanent residents.
I would understand if the internship involved top government
work in a U.S. embassy or work at NASA.
But honestly, why are people cleared by the U.S. government to
live and work permanently in this country if they can’t be
allowed to spend eight weeks interning in Sydney?
Banning students from activities such as these seems
contradictory to allowing people to come to this country to get a
good education in these fields.
What is worse than this is that most people don’t even
know it exists.
Being in California especially, we are trained to associate the
word “immigrant” with the movement of people from
Mexico or characters from the “Grapes of Wrath.”
Although their tales are compelling, they are not the only
stories of immigration.
In these past few years, we have heard much about new
legislation regarding undocumented immigrants. Many UCLA students
participate in the protests, speaking passionately about the value
of undocumented immigrants to California.
Such demonstrations cast the situation as black and white, with
an illegal population on one side and an American born on the
other, where everyone must fall into one or the other.
So many people have been here for years and years, building up
their status from immigrant with a work permit to a permanent
resident with a green card.
They have fallen in love with this country, even grown up in
this country and, for all that flattery, let’s show a little
more love, shall we?
Send Joshi your tired, your poor and your huddled letters
yearning to breathe free at rjoshi@media.ucla.edu. Send general
comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.