Massive deportation

(May 5, 2006) THE House of Representative won’t budge. The Senate, despite the House immigration bill criminalizing illegal aliens, will pass its own version, though probably not as harsh as the House’s, that will send home more than a million people who have come here to work.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein tried, but her amendment to make all those who are here without proper documentation become legalized was defeated. In all likelihood, even if deemed as being an inhumane act to families who are only trying to live a more decent way of providing for their children, many might be forced to go back to their home countries. It could probably the biggest deportation of people never seen before in the United States.

If approved, the Senate version will, however, allow many of the 12 million undocumented workers to remain in the U.S. and gain access to permanent residency, while some might also become citizens if they get petitioned by sponsors – provisions not present in the House version.  The catch is, whether the Senate proposal will be acceptable to the House of Representatives in the conference committee when both versions are merged, is still up in the air.

Last year, in one of the weekly briefings at the Philippine Consulate, we learned that there were about 70 Filipinos who were being deported each month.  And just like how we saw on a recent CNN special report on immigration, they were shackled  – chained even aboard the airplane – and escorted by U.S. immigration officers all the way to the Philippines.

According to Consulate officials, many of the deported Filipinos actually had green cards, but were still sent back to the Philippines. Why, you might ask?  Because they didn’t pursue U.S. citizenship, and while on a permanent residency status, they committed crimes that netted them jail time. And since they’re not U.S. citizens, their crimes also merited deportation. So as a preventive measure, I urge every single permanent resident to check their status. If you have been staying here for five years (some even less than that can qualify), make sure you apply for U.S. citizenship to enjoy all the benefits of being one.

While I’ve seen deported kababayans during my stint covering Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I’ve never seen more than five, let alone 70 in one flight and processed as deportees. With the current debate, immigration advocates have intimated on Thursday of the ever-growing fear of a massive deportation of Mexicans, other Latin Americans and Asians, including Filipinos.

There are also overstaying Irish, like the ones we saw in rallies in Boston, but I don’t know if their color, unlike the ones I’ve mentioned, may give them more chance of not getting picked up as qickly as I would imagine others. For sure, construction companies, manufacturers and those serving mostly the Latino community will be the first target as they comprise the majority of undocumented workers. 

While some would definitely celebrate when a new immigration law takes effect, that is when the House version had been watered down to pave the way for the legalization of some undocumented workers, it would also be a sad day when we see people being herded to detention centers and then sent home.

The federal government expects many to go underground, and will suddenly no longer be allowed to go back to work as employers will be fined heavily if they continue hiring them unless they show verified legal work permits. This is why the Bush administration has already announced and will start deploying the National Guard to “assist” immigration agents at the border, and in most likelihood, in implementing the new law which will create an atmosphere of confusion and fear, and then break-up of families  – the latter of which will be too tragic, a scene too hard to imagine.

Never also did I see a much polarized Congress, Republicans debating against conservatives, Democrats wanting to seize the opportunity to serve their own interest as the immigration issue heats up, which to many Americans, is as important as the Iraq war and security of the nation. Even the airwaves and TV networks have become so offensive at the way they look at undocumented workers as if they are parasites – claiming that they have been draining public funds from the health and education systems – when in fact they have been contributing to the U.S. economy. Some even file their taxes even if the Social Security numbers that they use don’t exist, creating a fund that have remained unclaimed.

For whatever it’s worth, wouldn’t their taxes and other economic of these undocumented workers more than enough to avail of health care and education? I say they do. I also side with immigration advocates who say that the great majority of these undocumented workers are law-abiding, hardworking, God-fearing and never or have the slightest intention of becoming criminals.

Sadly, the House of Represenatives see them as criminals for violating immigration laws. I just hope that majority of our members of Congress are not what some seem to be  – with cold cash stacked in the freezer, or involved in corruption or shady dealings with lobbyists. [Update: Former Speaker Tom Delay was sentenced to three years because of corruption while serving as a member of Congress]. (RFL)

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