|
Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
|
Immigrants trying to do civic duty; registered to vote, now getting deported
Quote:
Immigrants Find Voting Can Come At a Cost
The way Joseph E. Joseph tells it, he was just doing his civic duty.
On his way home from work one evening in 1992, he came across a group of volunteers in Brooklyn registering people to vote. Mr. Joseph, a legal permanent resident who had immigrated from St. Kitts eight years earlier, decided it was time to sign up. He cast a ballot in that year’s presidential election, he said, and in every one since.
His participation in American democracy came at a steep cost: The government is now trying to deport him.
|
First and foremost, this is about IMMIGRANTS not ILLEGALS. This is about legal green card holding residents.
For me this is pretty simple. I grew up as the children of immigrants. I remember my father's green card. He explained to me that this gave him some rights in the US but not all rights, specifically the right to vote. My father understood this very well. He could/would talk about politics, but knew he could never affect them in any way until he became a citizen. When the time came for him to be able to choose to be a citizen, he held out staying a national of his country for economic interests "back home." When I was in my teens, my mom became a citizen because my father felt it was in the interest of the family to participate in the voting process. My father finally had to become naturalized when we were going to be expatriated to Singapore.
Now, some of this article speaks to the confusion of whether you can or cannot vote in a particular election. I find it confusing too because some primaries I can vote, others I cannot. So I know that because it's too complex many don't vote at all that can.
Should these types be deported or their naturalization be jeopardized? I don't think so. I think they should pay a simple fine, or even do some community service of some sort and that's it. Deportation seems a bit harsh.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.
|