Monday, October 18, 2010
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Brad Ellsworth
I sent this letter to our U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Brad Ellsworth, regarding immigration issues. I liked the reply I got back from him. Talk about an automated reply, but at least I have to give him this he did reply while our President didn't (sent President Obama two letters). Please see letter below and reply I received. PS. Mr. President I'm still waiting for my reply.
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U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Brad Ellsworth
101 NW Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Room 124
Evansville, IN 47708
Ref: Immigration to the USA
To Mr. Brad Ellsworth,
I'm puzzled and irate on how US current immigration system works, it seems to me that anyone trying to immigrate to the US in a legal way following the law, gets passed over by the illegal immigrants and their rights!
Perfect example, when I became a US citizen over 10 years ago (that's another story), I applied for my father and he received his Green card. After that he applied for my siblings under his name. My sister gained her PhD from xxxx University in Chicago in Medical Physics (via Fulbright scholarship) and my brother is IT manager at biggest bank in UAE. After few years my father decided he has no need for the Green Card and gave up his right to it. His thinking was, I do not plan to migrate to US and use the resource that is meant for others.
On the other hand my siblings continued the paper work and finally received this year a letter indicating need to pay $70 for AOS (Affidavit Of Support) that was paid, then another email came in to pay $400 For visa processing fee. My brother paid that fee and now we are told we need to fill form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) I was going to fill this form (since I'm the one residing in the US) but to my surprised only the person that applied for them (i.e. our father) has to fill it. Since he gave up his right for the Green Card he couldn't fill that form, therefore we inquired with an attorney about the next step? To my surprise again, I was told NOTHING we can do except start the processes AGAIN and Jordanian citizens have a wait of 9 years! In other words the time they waited and reached this approval process will not be counted! Interesting.
How about when my brother came to visit in June got harassed by TSA (this was not his first entry) or my sister when she came to a conference and she was a presenter got also harassed by a TSA agent asking her if she is called a doctor in her country! What a sham, they come here for pleasure and spend $$ get harassed come here for a conference they get harassed!
I travel a lot for work and as a matter of fact, at one of my trips we sat next to each other on our way to Detroit. I'm sure you can tell TSA screening needs to be overhauled; you have been to Israel and saw how it's done.
What do you suggest? Ask them to cross the border illegally, carry with them drugs and sue the government or the state for trying to stop them at gun point? What do you think about using emotional distress from the ordeal for the case? (Similar to what an Arizona rancher faced when he got sued for $7.2 Million by illegal immigrants crossing his ranch!) Why is this country rewarding bad behavior while punishing people that follow the law?
Do special interest groups carry better weight than the people in this country? We wonder why we have brain drain in this country, and jobs moving overseas, we do not make it feasible to hire the best. Soon India and China will surpass us and wonder why.
Sincerely yours,
Shadi Wadi-Ramahi
cc. President of the United States of America
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October 15, 2010
ReplyDeleteDear Shadi,
Thank you for contacting me to share your views on immigration. I appreciate learning of your concerns, and I welcome this opportunity to share my thoughts.
I share your frustration with the persistent problems created by insufficient border security and outdated immigration laws. Our immigration system is not working and attempts to improve enforcement efforts have not been effective. Without a top-to-bottom overhaul of our immigration system and the tools we need to enforce it, illegal immigration will continue to be a problem in this country.
To make progress, the Border Patrol will need to make better use of new technologies and tactics to adapt to changing threats. Likewise, a modern and innovative enforcement system must uncover and remove illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. and are in state and local jails. The E-Verify pilot program, which allows businesses to check the work authorization of newly-hired employees, should also be expanded and improved so that all businesses can effectively enforce immigration laws.
I'm proud that so many people around the world admire the U.S. and want to live and work here. We should welcome people who want to come here, work hard, and contribute to our country, but we must insist they obey our laws in becoming a legal immigrant. That is why I don't support automatically adjusting the status of immigrants who are not here legally. Our legal immigration system needs reform and modernization, but that does not excuse those who have avoided the system altogether. In my opinion, automatic legal status adjustment would be amnesty and would undermine other important reforms to our immigration system.
The possibility for reform is real, and we must build on efforts to create an efficient and fair immigration system that we can effectively enforce. Thanks again for taking the time to share your views with me. If you would like to learn more about my positions on issues important to you or receive regular updates on developments in Congress, please visit my Online Office at www.ellsworth.house.gov and sign up for my e-Newsletter.
Sincerely,
Brad Ellsworth