According to Findlaw.com there are three ways to be considered a U.S. citizen:
Birth (being born in the U.S.), Blood (even if you're born outside of the U.S. if one parents is a citizen, you are as well), or Naturalization (the process of becoming a citizen if you have immigrated into the U.S. from another country and neither of your parents holds U.S. citizenship).
Individuals(Immigrants)who seek to obtain citizenship through Naturalization are not afforded the same privileges as those who are citizens due to birth or blood factors. Naturalization is a lengthy process and can take years. ( I was old enough to remember my father being sworn in as a citizen).
The privileges of being a U.S. citizen extend beyond what is entitled to us by the U.S. Constitution.
A site managed by Coloradans For Immigrant Rights provided this list of citizenship privileges:
1. Most if not all of the time I am able to surround myself with people who share a common or collective history, who understand the norms of U.S. society, who speak the same language that I do and who understand my culture.
2. I am not worried on a daily basis about being “discovered” and deported along with, or away from my family.*
3. I don’t have to worry that a small mis-step could lead to my deportation, even if I currently have legal papers to be in the U.S.
4. I can apply for a passport that will allow me to travel back and forth to most countries in the world.
5. I can think nothing of crossing the border to visit Tijuana, Mexico, for a day of shopping and sightseeing,while Mexican citizens must qualify economically to obtain even a tourist visa to enter the U.S., and there are a great many who do not qualify.
6. If I want to get a driver’s license, it’s a simple matter of bringing along my birth certificate, social security card, insurance card and taking the test. There’s no need to worry about whether I have the proper documents to get a driver’s license. Usually, a long line is all I have to worry about.
7. If I apply for a job, I do not have to worry about what to write under “Social Security Number.”
8. When Social Security and Medicare are taken out of my paycheck, I have a reasonable hope that someday either my dependents or I will receive the benefit of those taxes.
9. I can go in any bank and set up a checking account with out fear of discrimination, thus knowing my money is safer than on my person or elsewhere.
10. If a police officer pulls me over, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my perceived immigration status.
11. I can be reasonably sure that if I need legal, medical advice or help, my citizenship status will not be a consideration.
12. I can vote in any election on policies or on people who will make laws affecting my way of life and my community.
13. I may consider running for political office to serve my community.
14. I, or a member of my family,* can apply for scholarship aid to the institutions of higher education that are supported by my family’s tax dollars.
15. I have not been forced to ask myself what would compel me to risk my life, crossing a barren desert for days without food or water, or employing any other dangerous form of transport to enter the U.S., leaving my family,* my home, my roots behind me to enter into a country that not only feels hostile to my kind, but is
also at times difficult to understand.
16. If am treated violently or inappropriately by a federal entity I have some hope of legal recourse.
17. I can choose whether or not I take part in discussions surrounding how my lifestyle or the actions of my government have impacted the lives of those in other countries.
18. If I decide to organize or speak out about the policies my country has enacted or about any inaction or wrong doing, I am more likely to understand the systems I was brought up around and how they work. Those in power are more likely to listen to me and credit my arguments than a non citizen.
* On our use of the word “family”- “family” in most discourse on immigration policy is not used to describe unmarried, non-blood, and queer familial relations.
Here we recognize the inherent value, legitimacy and importance of these relationships regardless of state sanction.
Organizing Citizens to Support Immigrant Rights!
Website: http://www.afsc.org/central/colorado
Quote Taken From Article in The Portland Phoenix:
Should non-citizens vote?
Government Reform
By JEFF INGLIS February 17, 2010
"Legal immigrants typically take between eight and 10 years to earn citizenship, if they decide to. "Many of our immigrants are refugees" with legal status, Trevorrow says, who have kids in the public schools and pay property, income, and sales taxes yet at present lack a voice in how that money is spent — at least for the period before they become citizens. Some, for whom renouncing another citizenship would mean loss of property or ability to visit relatives abroad, never become US citizens and never have a voice in how their new home is governed."
Food For Thought:
Can you think of any other privileges afforded to U.S. citizens over non-citizens living in the U.S.?
What are your thoughts on non-citizens voting?
How do other factors such as race, sex, or poverty affect non-citizens, in particular, who are living in the US?
Should illegal immigrants be afforded the same chances as those immigrants who have moved here through legal channels or who are refugees?
FMI Please Visit:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
&
Requirements for Naturalization:
http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration/immigration-citizenship-naturalization/immigration-citizenship-naturalization-overview.html
Individuals(Immigrants)who seek to obtain citizenship through Naturalization are not afforded the same privileges as those who are citizens due to birth or blood factors. Naturalization is a lengthy process and can take years. ( I was old enough to remember my father being sworn in as a citizen).
The privileges of being a U.S. citizen extend beyond what is entitled to us by the U.S. Constitution.
A site managed by Coloradans For Immigrant Rights provided this list of citizenship privileges:
1. Most if not all of the time I am able to surround myself with people who share a common or collective history, who understand the norms of U.S. society, who speak the same language that I do and who understand my culture.
2. I am not worried on a daily basis about being “discovered” and deported along with, or away from my family.*
3. I don’t have to worry that a small mis-step could lead to my deportation, even if I currently have legal papers to be in the U.S.
4. I can apply for a passport that will allow me to travel back and forth to most countries in the world.
5. I can think nothing of crossing the border to visit Tijuana, Mexico, for a day of shopping and sightseeing,while Mexican citizens must qualify economically to obtain even a tourist visa to enter the U.S., and there are a great many who do not qualify.
6. If I want to get a driver’s license, it’s a simple matter of bringing along my birth certificate, social security card, insurance card and taking the test. There’s no need to worry about whether I have the proper documents to get a driver’s license. Usually, a long line is all I have to worry about.
7. If I apply for a job, I do not have to worry about what to write under “Social Security Number.”
8. When Social Security and Medicare are taken out of my paycheck, I have a reasonable hope that someday either my dependents or I will receive the benefit of those taxes.
9. I can go in any bank and set up a checking account with out fear of discrimination, thus knowing my money is safer than on my person or elsewhere.
10. If a police officer pulls me over, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my perceived immigration status.
11. I can be reasonably sure that if I need legal, medical advice or help, my citizenship status will not be a consideration.
12. I can vote in any election on policies or on people who will make laws affecting my way of life and my community.
13. I may consider running for political office to serve my community.
14. I, or a member of my family,* can apply for scholarship aid to the institutions of higher education that are supported by my family’s tax dollars.
15. I have not been forced to ask myself what would compel me to risk my life, crossing a barren desert for days without food or water, or employing any other dangerous form of transport to enter the U.S., leaving my family,* my home, my roots behind me to enter into a country that not only feels hostile to my kind, but is
also at times difficult to understand.
16. If am treated violently or inappropriately by a federal entity I have some hope of legal recourse.
17. I can choose whether or not I take part in discussions surrounding how my lifestyle or the actions of my government have impacted the lives of those in other countries.
18. If I decide to organize or speak out about the policies my country has enacted or about any inaction or wrong doing, I am more likely to understand the systems I was brought up around and how they work. Those in power are more likely to listen to me and credit my arguments than a non citizen.
* On our use of the word “family”- “family” in most discourse on immigration policy is not used to describe unmarried, non-blood, and queer familial relations.
Here we recognize the inherent value, legitimacy and importance of these relationships regardless of state sanction.
Organizing Citizens to Support Immigrant Rights!
Website: http://www.afsc.org/central/colorado
Quote Taken From Article in The Portland Phoenix:
Should non-citizens vote?
Government Reform
By JEFF INGLIS February 17, 2010
"Legal immigrants typically take between eight and 10 years to earn citizenship, if they decide to. "Many of our immigrants are refugees" with legal status, Trevorrow says, who have kids in the public schools and pay property, income, and sales taxes yet at present lack a voice in how that money is spent — at least for the period before they become citizens. Some, for whom renouncing another citizenship would mean loss of property or ability to visit relatives abroad, never become US citizens and never have a voice in how their new home is governed."
Food For Thought:
Can you think of any other privileges afforded to U.S. citizens over non-citizens living in the U.S.?
What are your thoughts on non-citizens voting?
How do other factors such as race, sex, or poverty affect non-citizens, in particular, who are living in the US?
Should illegal immigrants be afforded the same chances as those immigrants who have moved here through legal channels or who are refugees?
FMI Please Visit:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
&
Requirements for Naturalization:
http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration/immigration-citizenship-naturalization/immigration-citizenship-naturalization-overview.html
Immigration is such a touchy subject. I appreciate all the effort put into gathering all of this information. It is strange to me after reading this that the US Government makes it so tricky to be natutalized and yet it seems to benefit our country as a whole...because there is an added work force, thus more tax revenue goes to our national debt... I can see many of the negatives too, potentially more benefits need to be paid out by the government, and a cheap labor force can drive the economy down.. sorry, these are kind of disjointed thoughts
ReplyDeleteMy mother is an "immigrant" technically which I always found odd because she has lived in the U.S. since she was 1-year-old. She was born in Canada and both her parents were Australian citizens so she has a split nationality. She could easily become an American citizen because she does not have the barriers many other immigrants face such as cultural and linguistic assimilation. However, the U.S. does not allow dual citizenship and she does not want to give up her Australian heritage. Therefore, my mother continues to renew her green card and abstains from voting. Throughout my childhood she never commented on local or national elections because she was not able to have input. To this day, she remains completely politically neutral. It seems as though America wants to display dominance over other nationalities by preventing dual citizenship and forcing immigrants to decide between their native culture or American expectations.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of the valuable information. I learned a lot from your post. I do believe that immigrants who are paying taxes should be able to vote and it is a shame that they cannot. In addition, if they are paying into the social security as well, they should be entitled to those benefits.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as in Carolyn's mother's case - it always seems as though we are making people choose. Are you this or are you that? I am referring to this issue and many others. What do we have to be just one thing?
This was an amazing post! I went through are read through more than once. It is funny when you grow up in a place, you don't think about what it is like for people not from here. We take our rights and liberties for granted. It was good to read about the issues faced people who are not naturalized or legal to be here for me because it reinvigorated my appreciation for all that I have and have a right too being a citizen. I especially enjoyed reading the list from the Coloradians for immigrant rights some of these things on the list seem so ordinary, like opening up a bank account but it really shows the reality of a lot of people who are living in this country. Wow Carolyn I didn't know that the us doen't allow dual citizenship, boy do I feel out of touch! Thank you for sharing. And way to go for your mom!
ReplyDeleteI liked reading the rights of Coloradians too. this stuck out to me the most: If am treated violently or inappropriately by a federal entity I have some hope of legal recourse.
ReplyDeleteI cannot for the life of me understand how it is that people do not have this basic right to recourse. I remember doing research on Violence Against Women in the immigrant population for a lit review. I can recall being alarmed that If you are an immigrant/ non- U.S. citizen you are not entitled to the same protection offered by Domestic Violence statues. You have to establish residence in the country first (I think 2 years minimum) or be married to your partner. Basically, you have to jump through hoops to access DV services and risk being deported back to your country or origin if you came over without some type of visa. (if the other person brought you over to this country)
Just as a question/comment. I watched the President speak on television, (the speech he gave in Portland today), and he didn't mention anything about healthcare for immigrants or documented or undocumented people. I just wonder how not being a US citizen would affect the healthcare a person would get under the new law.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post. It was very informative. To read the privileges that were listed it is sad to think that someone is feeling all of those things. The worry of being caught the always looking over your shoulder it must be so tainting to their lives.
ReplyDeleteCindy that is a very good question. Would they be ignored by the outcome of this bill all together?
I recently heard of immigrants in Portland pushing to have the ability to vote. Personally i think that some privileges should be left to citizenship and I think the right to vote should be one of them. I do not know a lot of what citizenship awards or deny people, but I do know that it should hold some privilege within a country. Otherwise it wouldn't matter if you were a citizen or not.
ReplyDelete