A letter from an illegal immigrant

To: Us Government

I am an illegal immigrant and I think the US government should not grant me the Permanent Residency nor the US Citizenship for my children’s sake.

I came to the United States 2001. I was 23 years old. It took me one month and a half to find a job (I was lucky). I left my wife in Mexico. I did not know she was pregnant. After 5 months she told me she was expecting a baby. I did what I had to do to bring her to the USA. My son was born an American citizen, and his siblings too.

As any other father, I loved my son since before he was born. I wanted him to have a better life. So, I decided to discover for myself what it takes to have a better life. I spend months observing people. I noticed something really interesting. In the Mexican communities there was a lot of garbage in the streets. I saw front yards full of junk. I saw Mexican men drinking on Sundays despite the fact some of their fences were falling, or their grass was very tall. I notice on other communities people fix up their houses, kept their yards clean and neat.

What it shocked me the most is the fact that the Mexican community (for the most part) has embraced illegal behavior. Not only we come illegally, but we need to buy fake documents to find jobs, we need to lie to find jobs, buy cars, etc. We paid under the table to pass the emission test. We lie to get benefits from the government. We make fun of the whites for following the rules. There is even a Mexican comedian: George Lopez. His stand-up act is to make fun of the white people because they follow the driving rules, follow the doctor instructions, etc.

It is not fair nor accurate to say that all Mexicans are law-breaking people, or that all the Americans are law-abiding citizens. But it is accurate to say that the Mexican community tolerates and encourages illegal behavior because it is not socially looked down upon. We as Mexicans have a saying: “el que no tranza no avanza” which means that if you do not cheat you won’t get ahead in life.

We go to the extreme to demand a good reward for an illegal behavior. We want to be US citizens as a reward for breaking the law and we, as Mexicans, think it is right because we have done it before. When we cross the border breaking the law, we receive benefits for our kids, free lunches, free medical assistance. When we buy fake papers we get jobs, when we lie we get jobs.

I do not want my son to grow up with that idea. He is 13 years old now. I want him to think that obeying the law is the way to go. That illegal behavior should be discouraged and not rewarded. I want to stay in the USA to work and provide for him and his siblings but I do not want to receive a reward for my illegal behavior. Let me just stay and work but do not reward me with the US citizenship. Then you (The US government) will send the correct message to my son: law-abiding behavior will be rewarded and illegal behavior won’t be rewarded. If you decided to grant us US citizenship you will be sending the wrong message to millions of people in America (and millions outside that will come). This is not good for America. They will keep thinking that “cheating, lying, and breaking the law” is the way to go because you will reward that behavior.

Mexican Dad