Immigration Law: There is No "Line"
MONTGOMERY, Alabama (The
Southern Poverty Law Center) April
23, 2009 ―
It's a refrain often repeated on
talk radio and TV talk shows when
immigration is debated: Why don't
they just get in line to become
legal?
As one Latina interviewed for this
report noted, "They don't understand
it's not that easy." In fact, for
many people in the United States —
including undocumented immigrants —
there is no line.
Immigration law is enormously
complex, with dozens of potential
immigration statuses.
Currently, there are four major ways a
person can obtain a green card for
lawful permanent residency:
A specified family relationship with a
U.S. citizen or legal permanent
resident.
An employer petition for lawful
permanent residency.
Adjustment from refugee or asylee
status.
Obtaining a diversity visa, a process
commonly known as "the lottery."
Most undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
find none of these options are available
to them.
Family Relationships and the "Anchor
Baby" Myth
Despite the widespread myth of the
"anchor baby" born to undocumented
immigrants who use a child to quickly
gain citizenship, the law does not allow
such a path. Children born in the United
States cannot petition for the permanent
residency of their parents until age 21.
Further, there is no data supporting the
theory families have babies as part of a
21-year plan to achieve citizenship. In
fact, absent changes to U.S. law, the
parents would likely be ineligible to
migrate to the United States.
The other family relationships specified
as a path to lawful permanent residency
include spouses, parents and siblings.
The process of gaining residency status
through a family relationship can take
more than 20 years. Some of these family
relationship categories are so
backlogged with immigrants seeking legal
permanent resident status federal
officials have declared those categories
unavailable. Immigrants who don't have
these relationships will find this path
to citizenship is non-existent.
Employer Petition
Employment-based visas are not available
to most low-income workers, even for the
most exemplary employees. Of the more
than 1 million legal permanent resident
visas given out each year, only 10,000
are allocated for workers who are not
highly educated or trained. There are so
many individuals waiting for these
visas, the category has been designated
as unavailable by immigration officials.
Refugee/Asylee Status
Refugee or asylee status is a rare
commodity for Mexican or Central
American residents. Few people from
these areas have been granted either
status in recent years. In order to
qualify, individuals must face a
"well-founded fear of persecution on
account of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion." Asylum is not an
option for those seeking to escape
crushing poverty.
"The Lottery"
The odds are long in the diversity visa
"lottery." In this lottery, about 50,000
visas are awarded each year to eligible
individuals. Yet more than 6 million
people from around the world applied in
2007. Individuals from Mexico and most
Central American countries are flatly
ineligible for these visas because they
are reserved for countries with small
numbers of immigrants to the United
States.
A Painful Choice
Even for people otherwise eligible to
become permanent residents — such as
those married to a U.S. citizen — recent
changes to immigration law make it
impossible for many of them to adjust
their status.
From 1994 until 2001, Section 245(i) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act
allowed certain individuals who were
otherwise eligible for immigrant visas,
but entered the United States without
inspection or fell out of lawful status,
to become lawful permanent residents
without traveling to a U.S. consulate
outside the country to obtain this
status.
Section 245(i) grew in significance
after 1996, when Congress enacted a law
with a provision known as the "3 and 10
year bars." Under this provision, an
immigrant who is unlawfully in the
United States for more than 180 days and
then leaves the country is barred from
re-entry for three or 10 years. The
length of the re-entry ban depends on
the length of the illegal stay.
Until 2001, Section 245(i) provided a
path to legal permanent residence that
didn't require eligible aliens to leave
the country — a requirement that would
subject them to the re-entry ban.
Because of more recent changes to
immigration law, however, countless
people who are otherwise eligible to
adjust their status — including
thousands of people married to U.S.
citizens — are subject to that ban.
Many people now face the painful choice
of either leaving the country and their
family for 10 years for the chance to
become a legal permanent resident or
remaining in the United States with
their family and giving up the hope of
ever achieving legal status.
