By: Daniel Nardini
Despite appeals, and U.S. President Barack Obama’s own words that only criminal undocumented would be the ones deported, Jaime Martinez—a person without a serious criminal record—was deported. Despite the fact he was a homeowner, has a U.S. wife and four children (all born in the U.S.), and was working and paying taxes, was simply thrown out of the country. What were his crimes? Crossing the border “illegally” numerous times. If that is the worst of his criminal record, then he has a record cleaner than most politicians in Washington, D.C. Jaime’s wife, Jennifer Martinez, tried in vain to prevent her husband from being deported because he was the only provider for the family. Even with all of these things that should have kept Jaime Martinez in the country, they did not. Now Jennifer and her four daughters, who all live in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, have little of a future in the United States and no real way of making ends meet. So Jennifer Martinez made the momentous decision of joining her husband in Mexico.
However hard this may be, she does not want the family split up. This is understandable enough—the daughters should not be without their father. The family should not have to have just one parent when both parents love each other and should be together. Jennifer has registered her daughters with the Mexican consulate in Chicago so they can have dual U.S./Mexican citizenship in case they ever get the chance to return to the United States. Now the children will have to learn to live in a country that they were not born in, and which will present a new set of problems they must try to overcome. Sadly, so many families in this country are being forced to make such decisions as the Martinez family. If an undocumented loved one is jailed and deported, then the family must make the choice of either living as a fragmented family, trying to get their loved one back (which is almost impossible given how the U.S. immigration system is at present), or taking the whole family to the undocumented spouse’s country of origin. This problem is compounded by the fact that they may have to learn a new language and customs, get immunizations to protect them from diseases that do not exist here, and worse separate themselves from the relatives they knew all their lives here.
It can also mean that the whole family may either not be able to return to the United States for a long time or if ever again. Imagine what kind of psychological impact this will have on the children if there are any children. These kids will ask themselves why are they being punished for something they did not do? When you think about it, U.S. immigration law is not like criminal law in that the whole family pays for the crime of one family member. Or, rather, not a real crime at all beyond crossing an international boundary without permission. There are millions of people and their families in this category, and it all suggests that perhaps the whole system should be changed to match reality. Sadly, with all of the xenophobic talk by the candidates for the presidential election, it does not seem that reality will enter into the immigration debate. It will mean that more families will face the same dilemma that the Martinez family is suffering through now.
Whole Family Gone to Mexico
By: Daniel Nardini
However hard this may be, she does not want the family split up. This is understandable enough—the daughters should not be without their father. The family should not have to have just one parent when both parents love each other and should be together. Jennifer has registered her daughters with the Mexican consulate in Chicago so they can have dual U.S./Mexican citizenship in case they ever get the chance to return to the United States. Now the children will have to learn to live in a country that they were not born in, and which will present a new set of problems they must try to overcome. Sadly, so many families in this country are being forced to make such decisions as the Martinez family. If an undocumented loved one is jailed and deported, then the family must make the choice of either living as a fragmented family, trying to get their loved one back (which is almost impossible given how the U.S. immigration system is at present), or taking the whole family to the undocumented spouse’s country of origin. This problem is compounded by the fact that they may have to learn a new language and customs, get immunizations to protect them from diseases that do not exist here, and worse separate themselves from the relatives they knew all their lives here.
It can also mean that the whole family may either not be able to return to the United States for a long time or if ever again. Imagine what kind of psychological impact this will have on the children if there are any children. These kids will ask themselves why are they being punished for something they did not do? When you think about it, U.S. immigration law is not like criminal law in that the whole family pays for the crime of one family member. Or, rather, not a real crime at all beyond crossing an international boundary without permission. There are millions of people and their families in this category, and it all suggests that perhaps the whole system should be changed to match reality. Sadly, with all of the xenophobic talk by the candidates for the presidential election, it does not seem that reality will enter into the immigration debate. It will mean that more families will face the same dilemma that the Martinez family is suffering through now.