Talk about U.S. Immigration

Widow Penalty: Need A Quick Fix.

The Federal District courts of Texas and of Missouri struck down the “widow (widower) penalty” rule as it is popularly known. The cases decided were Hanford v. Napolitano, on 9/17/09 and Kells v. Napolitano, decided on 9/29/09 respectively. The government’s stand is that a foreign national spouse loses the spousal status upon the death of the marriage partner and so could not continue with the marriage based permanent residence based on marriage to the now deceased U.S. citizen. The immigration agency had been denying these applications and petitions. Sometimes even an already approved petition is reopened to issue a denial and the foreign national widow or widower is placed in deportation proceedings. All because death separated the couple before a government officer could get to and process their immigration papers. What an irony of fate!

Several Federal Circuit Courts have earlier refused to agree with the government interpretation. But the Texas and Missouri courts struck down the rule as a matter of law and dispensed with the need to go to the Board of Immigration Appeals as a preliminary to seek redress before the court.

Spousal status should not be determined by fate and is not lost by the death of one of the marriage partners. The property law as the most common example recognizes the marital rights of the widow(er) attach soon after the marriage is complete unless dissolved before death of one of the parties to the marriage. Now try explaining this to the DHS.

The courts looked at interpretation and guidance from elsewhere in the absence of a clear legal language. However, as illogocal as it may sound, the Department of Homeland Seculrity passes the blame onto the legalese and wants the Congress to amend the rules before it could shift policy stand, acting like a real adverasary here. It should however be appreciated that the Agency does not wish to continue with deportation or removal attempts in these cases for two years. Secretary Napolitano states that is the most the government could do.

Unfairness of the rule is glaring from the fact that it is either being struck down or the government policy not recognized by courts after courts. In a good democracy, neither the Congress nor the government should force the public to go to courts, repeatedly, to seek redress against its own actions. Failure to recognize and redress the injustice to the aggrieved is despicable whether the reason is preoccupation of the Congress or unwillingness of the government to change its policy. Injustice due to illogical outcomes do a great dissrevice to our society. So, it is only ideal that Congress act now to clear its own mess and help those in bereavement. The political impasse over the fate of the unlawful foreign workers is well known. But a short wise step to comfort and treat with respect those who are legally here and grieving is immediately needed.

The Economic Stimulus Bill

The U.S. Senate adopted the “Sanders Bill” by a voice vote after the Bill was amended. The Bill allows a financial institution to benefit from the government offered stimulus and as a condition, makes it harder for the institution to hire foreign nationals on H-1 visa or even receive extension of such visa for those in the employ. The present time limit for the restriction is two years.

It is hard to believe a proposal that tantamounts to “protection” of employment in favor of the U.S. nationals is being adopted in the U.S., country that has been a protagonist of international free trade and commerce and has been a live example of the advantages of open economy with least government interference. Is it a sign of a change in U.S. ideology or merely an effort to politicise the immigration issue once again? Reminds me of the lessons I learnt in my economics class on why protection does more bad than good.

Generally, the reason for America’s role as a world leader in the economy was due to its passion for talent and the freedom it gives the talent to grow along side the employer hiring such talent. The opportunities created themselves within the country and then abroad creating multinational companies. The reason being, international trade and commerce leads to national economic growth and promotes competition that brings efficiency.

It is a common fear, that any protectionistic umbrella generally takes away the incentive to compete and so such a measure for the financial institutions to start with and percolating to other industries in U.S., would shun the human talent from around the world that the nation had welcome, enjoyed and exploited for the benefit of itself and for everyone else. Similar protectionist steps adopted by other countries would be detrimental to international trade and commerce. Recession, being a global phenomenon, an effort to combat it should properly consider its international aspect.

The Myth about Hispanic Undocumented Workers and the English Language

While it is a widely known fact that the undocumented workers find it difficult and are often unable to communicate in English and that it is imperative to know Spanish if you are in Latin America; it is erroneous to assume that undocumented workers do not want to learn English.

It is a common myth that Hispanic Immigrants don’t want to learn the English language and often restrictionists use it as one of the reasons to oppose immigration of foreign nationals into the United States. Although, far from truth the myth could raise doubts in common minds about whether immigrants in general, not just Hispanic immigrants, are willing to learn English.

I have come accross several foreign nationals, not just hispanics, who struggle to communicate in English or at the least, not able to speak English as freely as they would in their native languge, but certainly would be appreciative of another foreign nationals who had a good grasp over the language and would like to know how to attain the English language skills. All these foreign nationals had one thing in common and it is the desire to communicate their thoughts in English and communicate well.

The other myth is that linguistic skills are divine gift. Everyone starts learning the language their parents spoke ever since birth and additional languages sometime after birth. Our ability to communicate our thoughts in a language largely depends upon the people and the place surrounding us which also influence our determination and effort that we put forth to learn the language of the people to communicate effectively with them. That is why a foreign national who never spoke English in his country of birth begins to speak a few words of English after coming to U.S. and develops what one may call a broken English but their children who are raised in the United States converse fluently in English.

It is wrong to assume that Hispanic immigrants don’t want to learn English or don’t try. As far as I know, all immigrant parents in U.S., give high priority that their children become proficient in English and take pride in the fact that their offsprings speak better English than themselves.

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) a survey conducted in 2006 reports that 1) majority of Hispanics (regardless of their income) agree that immigrants should speak English; 2) more than half of Latinos speak both English and Spanish; and 3) 96% of the foreign born Latinos believe that teaching English to their children is very important.

Often, foreign studets join the “English as a Second Language” (ESL) classes before seeking admission in an acredited academic institutions as a full time student. In Indiana, especially in my town, several Hispanics who came out of the ESL classes provide interpreter/translation services.

ESL classes are in high demand. According to the 2006 Survey, over 57% of the ESL providers reported placing their prospective students on waiting list. AILA reports the wait times ranged from 3 weeks to 3 years and that in New York the waiting list was replaced by a lottery system turning away 3 out of 4 applicants. In my view, knowledge of English is a priority among most immigrants in the United States.