I am the direct descendant of someone who came here, to the United States, as an illegal immigrant. My great-grandfather, Paulo Biacco, was an Italian merchant marine who jumped ship in Philadelphia, with a dream of being an American.
The details are unclear, but one thing I can tell you, knowing a little about the town he was from -- people were poor! There is no way I can conceive of, that my great-grandfather could have found passage over to the United States, except as a part of his job.
Now, once he was here, he remained undocumented. These were not times of persecution in Italy. He wasn't some important political figure who was seeking asylum. He was just a poor guy from the hills who believed that in America, there was opportunity for work that would pay well, and a chance to raise a family.
So, why remain undocumented? Well, for one thing, it probably didn't occur to him at the time he arrived, that he needed papers. He never needed them in Italy. It's not like in the early 1900's, everyone had a social security card. He was able to obtain work easily, open a bank account, get married, buy a home and start a family, without any questions about whether he was SUPPOSED to be here or not.
And work and raise a family, he did. Speaking only Italian at first, he primarily worked with and lived near other recent Italian immigrants. And perhaps if he had realized he needed "papers" he still would not have understood what to do to get them.
My great-grandfather fell in love with, and married, a legal immigrant to this country -- my great-grandmother, Maddalena Ferro. SHE never felt the need to learn English, as he did. But then, she stayed at home raising the family. All her neighbors spoke Italian. And to be honest, at this time in our history, people could be downright prejudiced against Italian, Irish, and Polish peoples. So she kept to herself and worked toward that American Dream of my great-grandfather.
Well, eventually my great-grandfather got old and ill. That is when the issue of his citizenship came up. When he started looking into a proper burial, was when it became apparent that he actually NEEDED to be documented. And he did what he was supposed to do, having lived, worked, and PAID TAXES in the United States for over 40 years… He got a Social Security card. He was never naturalized.
Luckily, his children were all American-born and therefore had no impediments to their citizenship. Two wound up home-makers, and one wound up a nurse, midwife, and later a nursing home administrator who worked her entire life, and paid her taxes, and never once questioned that America is the greatest nation in the history of the World.
That would have been my grandmother, born Pasqualena Biocco, later in life to become Pauline B. Cranmer. She was tough as nails, a mother and businesswoman, and a true Patriot.
My grandmother herself had three children, who all have lived, worked, and paid taxes in the US of A their whole lives. And these three children, my mother included, have produced six more children who all live and work and pay taxes, and between us six cousins, we now have five children of our own. Who aspire one day to live, work, and pay taxes in the greatest country the World has ever known.
Yes, I know that illegal immigration is, well, ILLEGAL. And I know that now, 100 years later, the issue of secure borders is more important in ways we never imagined 100, or 50, or really even 20 years ago.
The thing is, the REASON people come here illegally, and remain here undocumented, are as varied as people themselves are. And it's really not a great idea to sweep them all into one category, "illegal", and then waste so much time and energy to root them out and send them packing. Some will really make positive contributions to their communities and our society.
Now, I would advance one idea alone, as a start, to find out who really belongs here…. DO YOU WANT TO PAY YOUR TAXES and be here legally? Yes, that is one idea, because just about all the illegal immigrants WISH they could be legal. But would you go so far as to pay your taxes, if you were granted more permanent admission?
This doesn't mean we have to grant CITIZENSHIP to every person who comes in on a travel visa and stays (a much easier way to get here than what most people think usually happens), or sneaks across the border. But work papers, and PRESTO, you are no longer undocumented, no longer looking over your shoulder and fearing deportation. Your kids are no longer worried in school that you will be found out, or that they may be separated from you. And you are now doing your part in paying for some of the benefits you receive by being here in the US.
If we could set a time frame so that all people who were undocumented, and passes a criminal background check, could get a Social Security number and green card… Well, then MAYBE we could start requiring SCHOOLS to ask for proof of legal residence when kids enroll. Because right now, THEY DO NOT!
Most people would be shocked to hear this. And many think that kids of foreign nationals are a big drain on our economy. Maybe they are. But do the police have time and financial resources to waste, finding all these peaceable, otherwise law-abiding "illegals"? Heck NO! And do the States mandate that schools help? NO! So there is a common misconception that illegal immigrants are waltzing in here and lying to get their kids in school.
Well, they aren't lying to get jobs, either. A free-market economy pretty much ensures that people who want to hire below minimum wage, can. They hire contract workers from someone less scrupulous, who themselves are legal, but employ people here illegally. And we can try to root out these employers, but again, do our police have lots of spare time and money for this?
This practice reaches into every area of our lives. These immigrants are not largely out there telling a bunch of lies to gain the benefits of our society. They are going where people who speak a language they understand, tell them they can get work right away to feed their families. And they want their kids to go to school so they don't have to do manual labor their whole lives!
Oddly enough, I hear people who are SUPPOSED to be in the news business, saying this politician or another are courting the vote of illegal immigrants. Well, guess what? The illegal ones aren't voting! DUH! You need either a Social Security number or Driver's license to register to vote… And either of these would require that you provide proof of legal residency! OK, so maybe some folks here illegally are getting fake driver's licenses… BUT if they did, and got caught with it, or tried to use it to register to vote -- they would be found out. AND guilty of a crime. Think they are risking that?
Now, say we give all the "illegals" two YEARS to get the paperwork in. THEN we start requiring schools to ask for proof of legal residency. All of a sudden, we can spot MANY illegals this one simple way; they have a school-aged child at home with them!
In just about any neighborhood, a kid who is 7 or 10 or 15 and not going to school, is going to stand out like a sore thumb. And THEN we have some cause to go inquire. Because it's the LAW that the kids go to school. And if you have some idea that the kids are NOT in school, then there's your precedent to go pay a visit. And ask why the kids aren't in school. And then come back in a month and check.
When these kids STILL aren't in school, then you have a reasonable suspicion that someone is here illegally. And you haul them in for questioning, etc.
Now, who does this NOT catch? Clearly the people who come here illegally for something OTHER than to work and raise their family. Maybe some unattached 20-somethings. Or maybe it misses the people who are really here to do us harm. And then it nets a bunch of families that are relatively peaceable and hard-working. BUT they still aren't paying their taxes, darn it! THEN I do not feel quite as sorry for them.
Yes, if my great-grandfather had come here not 100 years ago, but today, he would not have been able to remain so undocumented. But he wanted to be legal, and was given the chance. And he PAID taxes. And he has brought about 15 future taxpayers by his living here.
Had he not wanted to pay taxes, this plan would, with my plan, cause him a lot of pressure to get legal, or get out. Because then he could not have gotten a free education for his three children, without getting "legal".
KEEP the people who WANT to be legal AND contribute. Too bad for the rest. It's a different World and different country than it was 100 years ago. We can't be as free with our borders or our tax dollars. But we can't waste all that money hunting them down, either, without some change in the way we do business, and without some "just cause" to isolate who may be here illegally.
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