Land of the fee, home of the brave
It appears that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency is about to make it more difficult for legal immigrants to become citizens:
The proposals being drafted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, could nearly double application fees, toughen the required English and history exams, and ask probing questions about an applicant's past, such as "Who is your current wife's ex-husband?"
As an immigrant myself, I must say that I'm not terribly surprised, given the xenophobic tone of American politics today. I note that the immigration requirements already require a knowledge of U.S. history and government that probably far exceeds the knowledge of most naturally-born U.S. citizens. New immigrants, for instance, learn about the Constitution. Native-born U.S. citizens apparently think that constitutional freedoms go too far. But we all know that ignorance is not an absolute bar on patriotism; in many cases, it might actually be an enabler to patriotism.
The doubling of the application fee makes it more difficult for even legal immigrants of modest means to afford the process of naturalization. Again, it's not as if we legal immigrants are sitting around like banlieue kids, ogling your white women and taking your welfare checks. We pay the same income taxes as you. We pay our Social Security contributions, too--spurious though "Security" may seem, given the long-term demographic situation. We pay consumption taxes: sales taxes, gas taxes, and so forth. We pay tolls to drive on your roads. And now, for all that hard immigrant work, what does America offer? The prospect of representation, maybe, eventually....at a price.
At least it's good to know that the people in power are so welcoming to immigrants.
The proposals being drafted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, could nearly double application fees, toughen the required English and history exams, and ask probing questions about an applicant's past, such as "Who is your current wife's ex-husband?"
As an immigrant myself, I must say that I'm not terribly surprised, given the xenophobic tone of American politics today. I note that the immigration requirements already require a knowledge of U.S. history and government that probably far exceeds the knowledge of most naturally-born U.S. citizens. New immigrants, for instance, learn about the Constitution. Native-born U.S. citizens apparently think that constitutional freedoms go too far. But we all know that ignorance is not an absolute bar on patriotism; in many cases, it might actually be an enabler to patriotism.
The doubling of the application fee makes it more difficult for even legal immigrants of modest means to afford the process of naturalization. Again, it's not as if we legal immigrants are sitting around like banlieue kids, ogling your white women and taking your welfare checks. We pay the same income taxes as you. We pay our Social Security contributions, too--spurious though "Security" may seem, given the long-term demographic situation. We pay consumption taxes: sales taxes, gas taxes, and so forth. We pay tolls to drive on your roads. And now, for all that hard immigrant work, what does America offer? The prospect of representation, maybe, eventually....at a price.
At least it's good to know that the people in power are so welcoming to immigrants.