I recently have been listening to a podcast that was suggested to me by a friend. This American Life is a weekly public radio program and podcast that chooses a theme related to living in America and tells the story. This week, the episode “Get Back to Where You Once Belong: Nowhere Man” caught my attention. The story of Raul Rodriguez was compelling and heart-breaking with no resolution or, quite frankly, hope.
Raul’s mother, a Mexican citizen, had crossed the border in order to have Raul in America with the hope that he could then grow up with his Aunt and Uncle in Texas. His parents truly believed that this was the best possible opportunity for their son and, even though Raul grew up unhappy, lonely and missing his parents, as an adult he understood why his parents had made that choice and appreciated his life. As an adult, Raul would serve in the military and go to work as Border Patrol Agent in Mission, TX. That job and his wife, who worked for Immigration, would become the close knit family that he had always hoped for.
Raul worked as a BPA for almost 18 years. He was recognized for his integrity, work ethic and dependability more than once and was a well-respected member of the team. So, when Raul applied to sponsor a family member from Mexico for citizenship, he had no idea that it would turn his world upside down. In the course of that investigation, Raul would learn that he in fact was not an American citizen; that his mother had not crossed into the US to have him and that even his date of birth was a lie. After an investigation led by Immigration, Raul’s real birth certificate was uncovered and, after questioning his father, was told that his parents had falsified the document and snuck him across the border to live with his Aunt and Uncle. Raul was terminated from his job – his family – and no longer an American citizen. His son, from a previous relationship, had also lost his citizenship status since his was based on his father’s. Raul and his wife decided that the best course of action was to have Raul apply for a green card since his wife was an American citizen but after months of waiting for a response, Raul was denied because he had “defrauded” the government. At the end of the story, Raul’s situation had not been resolved. He is still living in America but fears being deported at any time. The family he had built and the family he was born into are both gone and this previously hard working, active man is spending most of his time at home, afraid to venture out because he might not ever get back.
While I was listening to Raul’s story being told by Raul, I felt so sorry for him and his family; for his parents who had to make that choice and live their lives knowing that they had lied about who their son was and for Raul who had done everything right and still lost everything. Listening to him talk about his father and son, about his work family he had lost and the shame he felt was hard. I actually went back and listened to it again because I was convinced I had missed something in the original telling. Surely, Immigration had some other reason for refusing this man a green card. It couldn’t be because of what his parents had done while he was an infant? Even as I write this, I’m angry. I think that Raul’s story is a great example of what I believe is really wrong with this country sometimes. With the exception of death, there is no clear black and white when it comes to human beings and our circumstances. There are times when we should look at things on a case by case basis and take into account the entirety of a person and their circumstances and not stamp everyone with the same bureaucratic stamp. Raul’s situation was beyond his control. His father openly admitted that Raul was never told the truth and had nothing to do with his current situation. Even in the midst of the chaos that this choice brought to Raul’s life, he isn’t fighting for his job or trying to get away with something or make excuses; he is once again following the rules and doing what he is supposed to by applying for a green card. This is an example of what an American citizen should be. Hard working, dedicated to his family and his country, loyal to his president and to the men and women that he worked with every day. Someone who overcame and challenging childhood and took pride in what he’d had to survive in order to be an American.
At one point in the podcast, a former BPA comments on how much harder it has gotten for people like Raul to get their green card since Trump was elected. Ironically, Raul and his wife both voted for Trump. Doing the work that they do, they appreciated his interests in keeping the border safe. I did not vote for Trump. I don’t agree with is ideas about immigration but I do believe in our Immigration system and I think that there should be a REASONABLE process that immigrants can follow to become citizens. I also know how backlogged that system is and how hard it can be for those living in poverty in other countries to be able to afford what it takes to make it through that process successfully. I have a good friend who was born in Cuba and immigrated with her father to America when she was two. She grew up in Miami and never became a citizen for a number of cultural reasons but mostly because no one in her Cuban neighborhood wanted that kind of attention. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she lost her green card and status in 2016 and is currently facing deportation back to Cuba – a country she has no memory of and had to leave because her father had been imprisoned for political reasons, had been tortured, and is still considered someone who should be killed on sight if he ever returns to Cuba. In the course of this experience, I have watched her be dismissed, discounted, insulted and mistreated by the same system that is supposed to be working to help her be safe. I have been sad and angry and most of all, frightened, for my friend who has lived the whole of her life in this country. She went to school here, worked a job here, paid her taxes here and now, at 59, could lose everything and be sent back to a country that is not her home.
I love listening to podcasts but a lot of the stories out there are about how many people dream of coming to American and how many people are ultimately disappointed by what that really looks like and how much that costs. I don’t know what the answer is or how to fix it but I know that we have to start seeing people for who they are and not how much they are worth. The one size fits all approach doesn’t work in immigration and its honest, hardworking citizens like Raul who are paying the price.
No comments:
Post a Comment