A Main Line teenager wore these booties during a border crossing 16 years ago.
They live among us, hiding but in plain sight.
They mow our lawns, mind our kids, cook our food, clean our homes.
They are Mexicans, living and working on the Main Line.
Some, of course, work under the table.
Others receive paychecks, have payroll taxes withheld, and file yearly U.S. tax returns.
Just like us.
But in many ways, not like us at all.
Because they are here without papers and have little reason to believe they’ll ever get them.
One such family – living in a rented, single-family home on the western Main Line – asked us to share their story.
They wanted us to put a human face on the immigration crisis.
But, of course, we cannot.
At least, not literally.
Instead of their faces, the couple had us photograph two sombreros and two flags – symbols of a family caught between countries.
Half of the family – the couple and their oldest child, born in Mexico 17 years ago – are here illegally; the other half – three children born here – are American citizens.
They want us to know that they came to America only out of desperation. And they’d love nothing more than to become legal, to step onto that fast-fading path to citizenship.
Twice, they saved enough to consult an immigration attorney.
Twice, they were told no, they would not qualify for green cards.
After living here 16 years as husband and wife, they’re used to dashed hopes, they say.
Once, a while back, the father marched buoyantly in Philly with Latino friends, convinced that amnesty was at hand.
But 9/11 happened.
And with it, the family’s door to citizenship, cracked open in the late 90s, slammed shut.
So for now, they wait, living quietly, cautiously, the rising panic of recent weeks hidden behind smiles dropped only in the dark of night, after the kids are asleep.
Their precautions are simple, scrupulous and necessary.
Before heading out to work each day, each checks the other’s car for broken headlights and taillights.
With more than 200,000 miles on their engines, keeping their cars running is challenge enough.
But a busted brake light, a fender bender, a traffic ticket, a breakdown – anything that brings the cops – could be the beginning of the end of their lives here. Inspection and insurance papers, they could produce. But a driver’s license?
Careful for years, the two these days are on high alert.
Their kids feel the change, too.
The two teenagers, who attend public school in one of the Main Line’s well-regarded districts, bring home stories of classmates belittling them, insulting their Mexican heritage. Only their names give them away. Unlike their parents, all four speak English without hint of an accent.
“My kids just ignore it, but I know they’re hurting,” the father confides. “My wife and I know we don’t belong here, but how about them? This is the only country they know.”
When the family shops at Walmart, security guards and clerks follow them, they say. “We see other shoppers grab their pocketbooks when we’re near them,” the dad says.
Times are tougher at work, too.
In recent weeks, clients – people they work for at their respective jobs – have demanded to know how they voted, mocked their accents and suggested that they learn better English.
They explain that they’re improving their English as quickly as they can.
Each has engaged a volunteer tutor from a local literacy group.
They want us to know, too, that they “try hard to be good citizens” even if they don’t have and likely will never get the documents that say so.
“We pay our bills on time. We pay our taxes,” the man says. “We’re trying to speak the language. I got my GED. We are decent people.”
Regulars at Sunday Mass, they profess gratitude to God for what they have.
But, pressed, they admit “many obstacles.”
Their eldest has a 3.5 GPA and is a student athlete.
“But we can’t go to the bank and ask for money to send our child to college. We can’t go to a car dealership to buy a new car because we don’t have valid licenses and social security numbers. We can’t go to a regular doctor or get health insurance.”
The undocumented half of the family relies on a free clinic for health and dental care. Even one hospital stay would bankrupt them, they say. The three younger children qualify for Medicaid.
Both parents often work six days a week – they can’t afford to turn down extra hours. In sixteen years here, they have never taken a vacation. Not one.
No, life isn’t easy here. But life was darn near impossible in Mexico, they say.
The man was the first to cross over.
He finished high school in Mexico City, drove a cab and sold tacos in the street to support himself and help his parents.
He had no plan to leave his country until a cousin told him about the chance to work for a living wage and live among family in suburban Philadelphia.
Excited, he sold his cab and hired a human smuggler (“coyote”) to guide him across the border in Tijuana. He slipped under a border fence, walked for four hours, then shared a ride to LA in the trunk of a car. He brought nothing. The only thing in his pocket: his cousin’s phone number in PA.
“It’s scary; you don’t know who you’re dealing with,” he remembers. “The coyotes are like the Mafia: they pass you from one person to the next.”
Because airline security was much looser 20 years ago, he flew from LA to Philly, where his cousin and a landscaping job were waiting.
His future wife would cross a few years later.
She was born, one of seven, in a rural village in one of Mexico’s poorest states. Her father was a subsistence farmer.
Home had no electricity, no running water, no beds. Her wardrobe: two dresses. After her education ended in sixth grade – the village school went no higher – she helped her father in the fields and her mother in the kitchen.
At 14, she moved to a nearby city to become a nanny to twins.
When she was 20, her aunt invited her to join her in the U.S. “I saw how hard my parents were working to survive,” the woman says. “I thought if I made more money in America, I could send them more.”
Eager to help, her boss paid the coyotes.
She crossed at Tijuana in the trunk of a car.
For three months, she trimmed grapevines in a California vineyard, then flew east to join relatives in Philly’s western suburbs. Like other migrants, she gave a false social security number to a factory and received her first American paycheck.
After she met her future husband, the two returned to marry in Mexico near their parents and siblings. They stayed on in Mexico City; the man resumed driving a cab. A year later, they had a baby.
One day, the man stopped home for lunch. “My wife asked me for money for diapers and milk for the baby and I looked in my pocket. There wasn’t enough money to feed the baby.”
That night they decided to return to the U.S.
Crossing this time – with a 14-month-old and a five months-pregnant wife – would be much riskier.
The baby went first.
“We had to hand our baby to strangers and cross through the desert. They told us it would be a better place,” the man recalls.
Again, they journeyed penniless, carrying a gallon of water between them for what they were told would be a three-day walk.
But, after a nightlong trek, their guide inexplicably abandoned their group of eight.
They jumped a six-foot fence at the Arizona border and flagged down a minivan.
“Help us, please,” the man beseeched. “I need to get my wife to Phoenix because my baby is there.”
The driver agreed to take only the four women. “First, I gave my daughter to a stranger, then I gave my wife to a stranger. I lost contact with her for three days.”
With the women on their way, the four men turned themselves in to U.S. authorities. They were handcuffed in the back of a pickup truck, driven to Tucson and put on a plane to El Paso, where they were escorted back over the border (to Cuidad Juarez, Mexico).
Officials intentionally drop you at distant, unfamiliar crossing points so you’ll be less likely to attempt another crossing, the man explains.
Desperate by now to find his wife and baby, he was undeterred.
He took a long bus ride back to the original crossing point in Arizona and tried again.
This time, he walked across, at one point ducking into bushes to avoid a guard.
He eventually reunited with his wife and baby in Phoenix.
Because airlines now required IDs, the family crossed the U.S. in a minivan, rejoining their cousins in Philly’s western suburbs.
Sixteen years and three more children later, they’re still here.
Forever grounded, each missed a parent’s funeral in Mexico a few years ago. “We’re caught in a cage,” says the father. “Here, we are able to feed our kids and send them to school. But we can never give a hug to our parents or see how they’re doing day by day,”
Would a wall have kept them out?
Not likely, the couple says. “People in my country are hungry. When you’re hungry, you go where the food is – even if you have to jump higher or go under. There’s a lot of corruption in Mexico and I don’t see when it’s going to be better. If it were, we wouldn’t have risked our lives to get here.”
Tighter border security is already “pushing people to cross in dangerous areas now, where there are narcos and criminals,” he says.
After the November election, the couple began preparing for the worst.
They arranged for an American friend to raise their three American children should they and their oldest be deported.
If only the father is sent back, he fears whatever job he finds in Mexico wouldn’t pay enough to support his family back here.
And if DACA is repealed, their eldest “dreamer” child would have “no chance at all” to go to college, they say.
“We’re afraid at any moment that something is going to happen, but we can’t tell our kids,” the father says. “We have to live like nothing is happening. They are happy kids.”
More tentative than her husband, his wife adds softly: “At the end of the day, we say, ‘Thank you, God, and please take care of us. Please keep us together.’”
Switching gears completely …. Louella is on the move again.
The popular women’s fashion boutique with stores in Wayne and Malvern is expanding to Bryn Mawr, taking over the Sara Campbell space at 1012 Lancaster Ave.
Louella ladies at the boutique’s future home on Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr: owner Maria Delany, District Sales Manager Jennifer Mihok; Bryn Mawr store manager Darlene Wolfington; and Rosemary Dekker, assistant manager in Wayne.
Owner Maria Delany tells SAVVY she’s “super excited” to open her third Louella in the heart of the Main Line, citing the eastern Main Line’s reluctance to cross the Blue Route to shop.
“Bryn Mawr is in the middle of a renaissance; there’s really good energy there.”
(Judging from the jammed lot at the new Bryn Mawr Village, we tend to agree – although it would be nice to see fewer vacant storefronts on Lancaster Ave.)
Louella Bryn Mawr will carry many of the boutique’s tried-and-true labels, including those eye-popping baubles from local gal, Lisi Lerch.
Also on order: new contemporary lines.
Prices, in typical Louella fashion, will run from reasonably low to reasonably higher.
At one end, trendy tops and jeans for well under $100. (Hear that, ’Nova students?)
At the other: preppy-with-punch designers like Trina Turk and Alice + Trixie.
After repainting the outside and spiffing up the inside, Louella III hopes to open in late April.
Meanwhile, Sara Campbell’s manager says the store may relocate on the Main Line.
In other shopping news – this time, bittersweet: Tuesday, March 14 is your chance to support the Devon Horse Show AND celebrate what would have been Polka Dots’ owner Susan Randels’ 61st birthday.
The Paoli fashion boutique is donating 20 percent of the day’s sales to the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair Foundation.
A huge horse show supporter and an equestrian herself, Susan tragically passed from a ruptured retroperitoneal aortic aneurysm on June 1, 2016, Ladies Day at Devon.
Her store, and her memory, live on.
Time to upgrade your flat screen. Or get that second fridge already.
Electronics retailer HHGregg in Berwyn is closing.
No surprise – The Swedesford Road store on the company’s hit list of 88 weak-performing stores.
Look for big liquidation sales into April.
First Circuit City, now HHGregg. Another big box gone bust. Ugh.
But at least the old Nordstrom Rack in KOP has a taker.
Fashion discounter Saks Off Fifth will open near the Regal Cinemas in April.
Site of the future Saks Off Fifth discount department store in King of Prussia.
Meanwhile, the Best Buy next door is hanging tough in the midst of a company-wide reorganization after ho-hum holiday sales.
Fun times in downtown Ardmore.
Or not.
After a decade of acrimony, construction of the $60 million, mixed-use, mixed-review One Ardmore Place has begun.
Good news for potential renters of the Place’s 110 luxury “loft” apartments with la-di-da amenities and underground parking.
A schematic of Dranoff Properties’ One Ardmore Place.
Not so good news for drivers accustomed to parking in the Incredibly Shrinking (And Soon Disappearing) Lot on Cricket Ave.
Constructions crews tell SAVVY the lot will be closed completely in three weeks and the whole eight-story project – two below ground, six above – will take two years to finish.
Looking to swerve off the fast lane for a few days?
You’re invited to stop and smell the roses – or whatever’s blooming in late April – at a new-to-the-Main-Line event in Malvern.
(Sorry, guys. This one’s for only for the ladies.)
Life’s Patina at Willowbrook Farm, host of those cool barn sales, is hosting a whole new kind of gathering, a “Soul Restoration” retreat, April 26-29. Created and staged by Brave Girls Club, the retreat is billed “a creative art + soul + life journey.” Seems Owner Meg Veno attended the same retreat and loved it so much, she’s bringing the Brave Girls here.
The idea is to immerse yourself in peace, quiet and beauty (and we know Willowbrook’s got all three in spades) as you unlock your hidden gifts with “soul crafting” art projects, journaling, nourishing food and a new friend or two.
The end game: A brave new life path.
Only thing missing? Oprah. But we hear retreat leader Kristen Hansen’s a darn fine stand-in.
An unexpected SAVVY find: Cedars Café BYOB in ho-hum strip center in Frazer.
Dull décor but tasty, scratch-made Middle Eastern fare. Family-owned, too.
Get in spring spirit (the weather sure is) and order the marinated lamb kebob with hummus and house salad. ($22.99). Apologies to Lourdas in Bryn Mawr, but Cedar’s got you beat on this one.
A SAVVY shoutout to Fox 29 “Good Day Philadelphia” host Mike Jerrick, who just came clean about why he’s been AWOL for the last few weeks.
Mike Jerrick and co-host Alex Holley on the set of “Good Day Philadelphia”
Witty and exceptionally affable, Mike announced on Facebook that he suffers from depression that’s been building over 13 years. He left town to get professional help at a wellness retreat in Southern California.
Which only goes to show you: Even the sunniest of souls battle inner storms.
Bravely done, Mike. Get well soon.
Your first story about the Mexican immigrants pierced my heart. It pains me to think other people in this area could be so insensitive. Thank you for bringing a much needed reality check to others. Hope all get the message.
Thank you. Appreciate your weighing in. As much as I try to stay current, talking to this couple was certainly an eye opener for me.
Prayers the family will stay together and continue to live here. It is heartbreaking to know that they live in constant fear. Please update us with another article in the near future and let us know if they are safe and okay. This was very upsetting.
Yes, I will be sure to pass along any updates.
If we can secure our borders as soon as possible by building a wall, we can offer immediate citizenship to fine people like those you profiled in your article. I truly believe that our president has that very idea in mind….he just doesn’t want to advertise it because we would see a surge in illegal immigration. So sad to hear of stories like these. I end up feeling like I take my American citizenship for granted. Lets hope we see a solution to this problem so no other families have to live this way.
Interesting point. Yes, I do believe I take my citizenship for granted, too.
On the illegal immigration story- my only question and comment is WHY can’t they become legal citizens? I don’t know the process but I do know work colleagues who have come here on work Visas etc… within past 10-20 years on the Main Line and they are legal citizens today.
We are a nation of laws and many people become citizens daily. It can be done – start the process for the sake of the family.
Thanks for your question/comment. The way the law works right now is that there is no path to citizenship for someone who came here illegally. There is no amnesty.
The article about the undocumented family is heartbreaking & certainly brings it close to home here on the Main Line. I wonder if Savvy can set up some type of donation page for them while keeping their anonymity.
I will certainly think about this. It would be interesting to see if this family would welcome donations. They take great pride in working hard and earning their money.
I was thinking the same thing. This story brought tears to my eyes. Working so hard the earn money and worrying and watching 24/7. Please keep us posted if you come up with a something we can help this wonderful family with.
Is anyone coordinating donations for this family? How can we help?
I had the exact same thought. Can a Go Fund Me page be started?
They don’t need your donations..they, like all other hard working immigrant families need amnesty. Your elected officials need to hear what you think. Write your congressman and senators. That is the only way to fix a broken system. People that say illegal immigrants are breaking the law didn’t do well in their history class…The US was built on immigrant labor, illegal or not. Write your congressman and demand amnesty for hard working law abiding human beings.
Thank you, Chris, for your response. So true and needs to be said.
Yes, but their children could use $$$ for their college educations as they can’t get financial aid. A Go Fund Me could provide that assistance.
Yes, you’re correct. Their eldest, as a non-citizen, certainly cannot receive any federal financial aid.
Yes I would also like to know how to help.
Thank you for sharing this compelling immigration story. People need to be aware of these heartbreaking stories so close to home.
Thank you for sharing the immigrant’s story. I wish them the best of luck. I have a close friend with an amazing story as well and today she’s a citizen! I fear for many of her relatives who will probably be deported. Many, many good people. So much for the saying on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” So much for America’s lifting the lamp beside our golden door! Sad.
To everyone who has expressed an interest in helping this family: What they want MOST is to have their story our there. They want as many people as possible to understand their plight and the plight of others like them – how they got here, why they’re here and why they want to be allowed to stay. PLEASE SHARE THIS POST with friends and neighbors so we can all become better educated about immigration issues.
Well done Caroline. Excellent on point story of the problems with the immigration system in our country. In the past we have approached local immigration attorneys to get undocumented Mexican workers visas without any success. Chris Todd’s recommendation is the solution.
Thank you for sharing the story of this immigrant family! It brings this much debated situation a personal perspective which is incredibly important. THANK YOU as well for sharing our Soul Restoration Retreat at Life’s Patina in April. The creator Melody Ross, founder of the Brave Girls Club, has put together quite an enriching and soul searching 4 day retreat that we are thrilled to be hosting! Also loved the piece on the Fox 29 news anchor, wondered why he has been absent!
What a heartbreaking story. I had no idea how difficult things are for them. Thank you so much for sharing their story. Yes I will pass it along as many more need to hear this. I truly wish them the best!
Heartening piece on our undocumented neighbors. If the reality of the current rhetoric and indiscriminate crackdown doesn’t tug at our hearts, the economic implications of massive deportations in lieu of comprehensive reform should open our eyes. The native-born U.S. workforce began to shrink last year, and the entire projected growth between today and 2035 will be driven by immigration, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center.
Why it matters: To get a sense of how an economy with a shrinking workforce performs, look no further than Japan. The size of its workforce peaked in 1998, and it has suffered through six different recessions since, compared to the United States’ two. Not only is it harder to produce more wealth with fewer people, but the incentive for corporations to invest is reduced when they know they’ll have fewer potential customers tomorrow than they have today.
Without knowing their exact location it would be useful to know which congressman to contact. Also, there are many good people here who belong to many different organizations who donate towards upkeep and education of ‘needy families’ I would love to try to connect them. I understand they are proud of their achievements so far but would love to try to get their kids into further education to secure their futures in this country. I applaud their courage and strife, and, given the same set of circumstances, can understand why people risk everything to pursue a better life.
For those interested in sharing this family’s story with their representatives, pertinent folks include: U.S. Representative Ryan Costello, U.S. Senators Casey and Toomey, PA Sen. Andy Dinniman, PA Rep. Warren Kampf and Duane Milne.
Thank you Caroline.
This is a wonderful story.
There are many Mexican illegal immigrants in our area who work hard and would benefit from free confidential legal services to move towards a green card.
My husband Dr Giancarlo Mercogliano came here via sponsors with his family.
Upon his 18th birthday he became a citizens via naturalization process.
His parents who lived through the Mussolini period in Italy waited to become citizens thinking they would move back because of the hate and discrimination against Immigrant Italians.
Of course, now it is more expensive and harder to obtain citizenship.
This leads to my daughter’s similar story. My daughter now dates a West Chester student with a green card (again another scary situation)
I know and feel for these immigrant families.
I know Senator Diniman has many transient migrant Mexican mushroom workers in his District. Maybe his office has a safe way to help families.
Keep up the great work Caroline!
Thanks for sharing your family’s connections to the immigration crisis/debate, Liz.
Great story, Caroline. Let’s not forget the immigrant families from all the other Latin American countries around here. The guys I used to work with – salt of the earth people – were Honduran, and very proud of their country!
Yes,a “heartbreaking story” for sure. Here is a dose of reality,however. As soon as the adult members of this family put one foot on U.S. soil…they broke the law. They put their children at risk,not any of us. They made the choice to put their children at risk. Donations? Our taxes(90 billion a yr. ) currently goes to those breaking our laws ..illegal aliens. People should research what all other countries(including Mexico) do to those who break their immigration laws. Mexico may be a hard place to make a living,but it is not ruled by a communist regime,such as Cuba.
America voted to enforce rules/laws that are already on the books. This family has nothing to “fear” now unless one of them has also committed a felony. They should be planning to finally do the right thing for their children,and follow steps to legally be here…no matter how hard that is. Take responsibility for the crime of being here illegally. Taking responsibility for our actions is one of the best lessons to pass on to kids.
Where’s the story,since you decided to make a political statement,on our veterans suffering rt. here on the main line? You know,the guys and girls who fought bravely so we all can be Savvy on the main line.
P. S. I read Savvy Main Line for a fluffy break from politics. Love it for that.
Absolutely appreciate your comment, Malvern patriot. And yes, I’d love to do a story about Main Line veterans – Please email me directly at [email protected] if you have any specific leads. (I doubt, however, that that story will be “fluffy” either…)
Thank you for the kind offer.
On second thought,there are a lot of pieces written about the plight of our vets. I shouldn’t have to supply you with leads. And yes,none are fluffy, since it is not a fluff topic to be sure.
As I said, I do appreciate keeping current with what’s opening,closing,expanding etc. on the Main Line. You do an excellent job!
One more thing, as the article states, the family did hire an immigration attorney twice and were told they had no grounds to obtain green cards. (e.g. they are not war refugees, not victims of abuse, not here to teach or work in technology, etc.) There is no amnesty in the U.S. so it’s hard to see how they would “do the right thing” and “follow steps to legally be here,” as you suggest. They assured me, and the article states, that they would LOVE to become American citizens. My goal here was not to make a political statement – it’s not SAVVY’s mission. They came to me with their story and I told it.
You wrote, “Our taxes(90 billion a yr. ) currently goes to those breaking our laws ..illegal aliens.” I’m unclear what tax expenditures you’re referring to, as undocumented immigrants are ineligible for welfare, food stamps, and other entitlement programs. Yes, this family’s eldest child attends public school, which is taxpayer funded. But by your logic, it is the parents who should be punished for putting their child at risk–not the child him/herself. Moreover, the child has obtained DACA status, meaning he/she is a legal resident of the US entitled to the same educational opportunities as his/her classmates. Yes, the family’s three youngest children are eligible for Medicaid–but they are US citizens, so that fact is irrelevant.
Suggesting that immigrants do not contribute to our tax base is a distortion of the facts. A 2016 study from the non-profit, non-partisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found undocumented immigrants contribute roughly $12 billion in tax revenue each year. (See http://www.itep.org/pdf/immigration2016.pdf) Unlike you and I, they are unable to file federal tax returns. That means on a pro rata basis most undocumented immigrants contribute more into our tax base than you or I. Undocumented immigrants also pay into a social security system they will never receive benefits from. (For an explanation of that situation, see https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/undocumented-immigrants-and-taxes/499604/)
I will allow that the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation put the average tax expenditure per undocumented household at roughly $14k in 2013, based mostly on the cost of schooling and emergency medical care of undocumented children. But that same year the US Chamber of Commerce’s “Immigration Facts and Myths” report suggested that this expenditure is actually a good investment in the future, because these children will grow up to be taxpayers and economic contributors.
To your point about the family having nothing to fear unless one of them commits a felony: that is not correct. President Trump’s executive order on immigration enforcement significantly expanded the class of immigrants prioritized for deportation to include not just those actually convicted of a crime, but also those who have been charged or who have “committed acts that constitute a chargeable offense.” It also includes those who used false social security numbers to obtain an on-the-books job, and pay into the tax system you seem so concerned about. (See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/us/trump-immigration-deportation.html) There is already substantial evidence that CBP and ICE have deported individuals with no criminal history. For example, only 74% of those deported during the week of February 16 had a criminal record, compared to an average of 90% under President Obama. (See http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/02/16/president-trump-immigration-raids-target-fewer-criminals/97988770/)
I’m also not sure what veterans have to do with any of this. I am as enthusiastic a supporter of our men and women in uniform as anyone else, but it seems to me you’re using them as a prop to create the false equivalency that because a blog runs a story on the experience of local undocumented immigrants, it must also run one on the experience (?) of veterans.
“Also a Patriot”
You can do your own research on what illegal aliens cost the U.S. per yr.(including the monitoring of our borders)
I never wrote about “punishing” anyone. I suggested that taking responsibility for one’s actions is one of the best examples adults can give their children.
I will not comment on any link to liberal papers or the failing NYT. As a reference point,I am neither democrat or republican. The Independent voter doesn’t believe in the total ideologies of either party.
I figured I would be demonized for suggesting that we remember there are laws on the books,and laws are imp. I’m sure this is a hard-working good family. Unfortunately, they broke the law and there are consequences to that. Even if the males of this family decide to return to their own country, they know they have a chance of being arrested by the Mexican police. If caught,they must serve either a yr. in a Mexican prison or serve a year in the Mexican Military.( which is required by all males of a certain age. )
Perhaps I bring up vets because my son is serving as a Sargent in the U.S. Marine Corps,and we see the desperate plight of these forgotten heroes. I could have referenced the many legal U.S. Citizens living under desperate conditions. Point being,legal citizens over the illegal aliens.
Peace out.
Bravo Caroline, thank you for tackling these serious topics! How many people know that “the undocumented” PAY TAXES, BUT CANNOT RECEIVE ANY SERVICES! and they do so happily… just to be here. How much will this insanity reduce our tax base, or more so, our extensive and necessary work force. Many of these jobs, Americans just will not do.
The people who hired them asked them who they voted for, mocked their accents, and told them to learn better English? Give me a break.
Thanks for reading SAVVY – nothing wrong with a little skepticism. As far as what I wrote about this couple’s treatment from clients/employers, I can assure you that I reported exactly what they told me.
This is a very well balanced and well written opinion piece. Whilst my sympathy goes to the children of the illegal immigrants I must argue that with regards to the treatment of non legal residents, the USA goes above and beyond. I spent close to 15 years in the U.K. for my career. I handled all my own paperwork and legal fees and was not allowed to leave the U.K. for the first 12 months of my employment. I had to reapply for my indefinite leave to remain every 3 years. I paid into their pension plan for 15 years and upon my leaving to relocate back home in the US I was only given back one year of that. Furthermore You are NOT allowed to use the NHS until paying into that system for 18 months. They also do not have a policy where anyone who needs treatment receives it, like we do in the majority of our states. The process required for permanent residency is only allowed after you have consistently lived there for 5 years on an indefinite leave to remain. Then you can apply for residency but that takes 2.5-3 more years to complete. You MUST be able to speak ENGLISH and the citizenship test is only administered in ENGLISH. I chose never to become a permanent resident because I knew I would one day return home. The point is I knew what the U.K. Law required and it’s limitations to my benefits, yet I complied. They have extremely lax laws with regards to refugees which resulted in the shocking BREXIT vote. The citizens over there have had enough of individuals coming to their country and making no attempt to assimilate but rather choose to force their own culture. How is it that some of the comments on here believe that blanket amnesty is required for even DACA. Is the deportation of hardworking and earnest individuals questionable? Yes but we need to stop making judgements based on emotion, we need to be pragmatic, even if that means some of the good members of our community will have to return home.
Thank you for sharing your immigration experience and opinion on this difficult issue.
You are welcome. It’s not cut and dry and I think those who are using their “heart” as a basis for their decision would do well to speak to other countries who have become a shell of themselves due to open borders. Again I appreciated your piece.