Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Jose and hope

My dear friend and DREAM Act student/child, Jose Ibarra sent me the following note last week.  Jose, like hundreds of thousands of children brought to the U. S. by their parents without proper documentation through no fault of their own, now lives in Mexico after his deportation.  The small town in which he resides has been a strange place for him.  He has suffered a number of real challenges. 

In his note he describes his hopes and dreams to return to the only "native land" he's ever known.  Jose, like thousands of young people like him, needs to be given the chance to return to this country and make his contribution, a contribution I guarantee he will make if given the opportunity. 

Pray for Jose.

Write your member of Congress and your two Senators today on behalf of Jose.  Ask them to support efforts to pass the DREAM Act today.  Then, encourage them to back comprehensive immigration reform NOW!


Hi Mr Larry,
I know it's been a wile since the last time I emailed you, but I hope you understand my sad situation.
I'm emailing you to let you know that I still remember y'all and to let you know that my wife came to visit me on August! She came here for a few days but as of this year sofar, those were the best  days I've ever lived here in Mexico. I also want you to know that my wife has an important meeting with immigration in October 23rd @ 8:30am. The meeting will be about the I-130, to see if they approve it or not! We've been praying hard for it to get approved so that our nightmare ends already. I will be keeping you posted of any news that I receive so be aware :)

I hope you and your family are doing well as I am too.

Sincerely,
Jose I.

please excuse typos, if any...
        Mr. Jose I.

[To learn more about the saga of Jose and his cousin, Monica, type their names into the search tool for this blog page.]

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

If his wife is an American citizen, could he not stay in this country because of that?

If he was deported before Obama stayed deportations, could he possibly come back?

Anonymous said...

These little anecdotes are most touching.Sure he can come back - just walk across the border! The ramifications of changing immigration law are far reaching and expensive. The number of illegals in this country now continue to fill the welfare rolls, swell food stamp costs to the taxpayer,drastically burdening public medical emergency facilities,and generally increasing the tax burden for those who do pay income taxes.

Anonymous said...

I truly feel for Jose. Can you imagine how ambivilant he must feel about a country whose economy says "come" with open arms because there's work that needs to be done, but whose laws say "go away"?

So after we invested years in his aducation (as did his parents, who paid property and sales and other local taxes), we send him away to a little village where it is all wasted - both for him and for us.

When will our economic reality match our laws? When will we stop upending people's lives over a line we drew in the sand?

Larry James said...

Anon 6:51, good questions. Jose was apprehended while a sr in high school and had a deportation case opened before his marriage and before the President issued his order. We are trying to get him back in the US, but it is not easy nor automatic in this case.

Anon 9:40, sorry but your information is not accurate. Undocumented immigrants don't receive welfare of any kind. They do use ERs when ill. They DO pay taxes via payroll and even SS, funds they will never be able to collect. Studies have shown that overall nationally immigrants more than pay their own way. Then there is the little secret about places like Dallas: try to do this city without Mexicans!

Anon 10:30, you are so right!

belinda said...

oh praying for Jose and his family!

what happened to his cousin Monica?

Larry James said...

She managed to get docs and is now applying for the benefit of POTUS' order.

Anonymous said...

"Anon 9:40, sorry but your information is not accurate. Undocumented immigrants don't receive welfare of any kind."

Oh really, and I bet you think all those Green cards are real too.

This is the information required In Texas to apply for SNAP food benefits (food stamps) and Medicaid
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/help/Food/snap.shtml

Facts you need to give to apply:
Money you have in cash and bank accounts
Money you get from jobs and training
Benefits you get now or have gotten in the past
How much you spend on rent, house payments, and utilities
How much you spend for adult and child care
Your medical facts

I don't see any citizenship requirement?

Larry James said...

These are not all the requirements. Undocumented individuals are screened out in the "establishing identity" portion of these interviews. In addition to that, Hispanics are very reluctant to engage any governmental agencies for fear of deportation. Your fears are misplaced, inaccurate and based on what I suspect is unchecked media propaganda at the least and likely peppered with racist hatred for good measure. You don't know this population, Anon 1:37. BTW--come out of the shadows and use your name if you have the courage to do so.

Anonymous said...

So you believe in the Green Card fairy too?

Anonymous said...

"Unchecked media propaganda"? Want to start with MSNBC and CNN?

Anonymous said...

http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/Pages/DRA.aspx

This website happens to be for California, but it is clear it is implementing federal policy. There are many pages about how to document citizenship or legal status in order to determine eligibility for benefits.

I found this in a 2 minute Google search. But I realize the Republicans have made it clear they will not allow "fact checkers" to run their campaign, preferring to live in their own world of fairies and unicorns, i.e. whatever Rush said yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Yes California can be proud of its fiscal responsibility.

Anonymous said...

Fiscal responsibility wasnt the issue. Federal policy on this subject was the issue. The usual dodge and parry when the facts jus won't go your way.