Endeavor to persevere…

The cranky “comments” and emails I sometimes get from people — aside from the illiterates who seem to think I’m an agent of the Mexican government on a mission to drag “Dog the Bounty Hunter” back to Jalisco — usually are from folks that have already made up their mind, and don’t want confused with things like facts. Facts are hard, as George W. Bush might say.

Well, the facts are, immigration is FUBAR. Even for legal immigrants, it’s not the simplistic world of Pat Buchanan or Lou Dobbs. If they want to read fiction, they should stick to Kafka. Otherwise, they should be reading Laura Fern’s One Step Closer

I miss Fermin. I’m an independent, generally optimistic person, and I really believe not dwelling on our separation is best for me. It’s not denial, just coping. I stay busy, work hard, remain a productive member of my community and workplace. But some days, when all this stuff piles up, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight, and I don’t have a trip planned to Mexico, I just want to give a big middle finger to this country, quit my job(s) and move to Mexico.

This puts a very human (and very literature human at that) face on a part of the immigration “issue” we don’t often see.  For Fern, and her husband, Ferman, this isn’t an issue… this is people.  The absurdities of the immigration process mean Ferman is living and working in Mexico, Laura in Milwaukee. 

Both are well-educated people, and work, but even they can’t quite manage the absurd immigration process.  She writes (in response to a person questioning another separated couple’s situation, and the supposed “ease” of immigration):

Mr. Lopez is applying for lawful permanent residency (this is necessary before applying for citizenship) through his fiance relationship with Laura Braun. However, were he not involved with her (or another U.S. Citizen), there would be no avenue for him to legalize. Even if he had never been in the country illegally and been deported, he would have had to be an extremely educated or exceptionally skilled foreign worder to immigrate here legally. I appreciate your sincere questions on this issue, but I have to admit I am always shocked when I realize that there are still many who believe Mexicans (and other low-skilled foreign workers) have some legal way to immigrate to the U.S. They very simply do not. 

Laura recommends “immigate2us.net” for people like her, and … I’m assuing… some MexFile readers might also find this a useful resource.  Those of us NOT in this situation could learn something (but we have no business posting there).  So could Franz.