The JBA Immigration Section Chair Vanessa Newtson
As I was deciding on a topic for this article, I came across the website www.myimmigrationstory.com.
As you can ascertain from the website name, it lists stories of United States immigrants written by the actual immigrants themselves.
Among many issues, the stories tell of families being separated and of how young immigrants are struggling to reach their educational and professional dreams through the obstacles of their immigration status.
I hope you take the time to read some of these stories as they are true testaments of the hardships that undocumented immigrants endure and of the love that they hold for this country.
As with many areas of legal practice, immigration cases intertwine with other areas of law, such as criminal, injunction, family and others.
In our firm’s criminal and immigration practice, when Spanish-speaking individuals from other countries call me, many of them have something in common: they feel they have been treated unfairly because they speak a different language, have dark skin or are of a different race.
These individuals live in our area and feel mistreated by the police, the courts and many government agencies that they reach out to for help.
With the focus in this country on anti-immigrant laws, and states such as Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah implementing such laws or attempting to do so, one can see why immigrants, documented or undocumented, legal permanent residents and United States citizens are questioning if the mistreatment that they receive has to do with their race, accent, and/or skin color.
For example, a client of our firm has been a legal permanent United States resident for eight years and originates from Cuba. The officer I spoke with referred to him as “the Mexican.” When I called a witness on the same case, I got the same reference, “the Mexican.”
The term “Mexican” is sometimes used as a negative connotation to define anyone that appears to be of a Hispanic nationality. Not only does it do injustice to individuals from Mexico, but it also lumps individuals from different countries in one group, no matter what country they’re from or whether they are documented or not.
This client, like others, expressed concern regarding the treatment that he received.
While there may be an anti-immigrant sentiment in parts of this country, there are many positive qualities that immigrants contribute to the United States, such as culture, language, different experiences, family unity, a boost to the economy and hard work.
Many people may be unaware that a large number of undocumented immigrants file individual income tax returns each year and pay federal, state and local taxes, or that undocumented immigrants pay into Social Security, despite not being eligible for the benefits.
Moreover, undocumented immigrants help the local economies where they live when they buy food at grocery stores, eat at restaurants, purchase vehicles and cellphones, and purchase goods and services necessary for daily life.
As attorneys, it is our duty to uphold the law and guarantee fair treatment of our clients, no matter what nationality, skin color or background.
By no means am I intending to leave the impression that all Hispanic immigrants are treated unfairly or are mistreated, but it does happen with enough consistency to call for attorneys to be aware of this matter.
Laws and people will only change if the problems are identified and there is a call for equal treatment. After all, most United States citizens can trace their ancestry to immigrants.