The answer to that question is (and should be) a no-brainer. Punished. Always. So why is our president trying to reward millions of illegal immigrants in the US by giving them a free pass?
I came to this country 8 years ago because my boyfriend was American. Since I couldn't just stay here (even though Ray had the resources to support both of us, which meant I wouldn't have been a burden on the state,) and staying illegally was out of the question (especially since I could never have gone back to Italy to visit my parents,) I enrolled in a community college hoping to find a job that would have allowed me to get a work visa.
Two years went by, and I graduated (Associate degree,) which meant I had to transfer to a 4-year institution in order to keep my student visa active (and I won't even bore you with all the requirements needed to stay 'in status' when you're a student.)
Two years later, I graduated again (Bachelor's degree,) and gained a one-year temporary work visa to get some on-the-job training before leaving the country. Finding a job was very hard then, because the economy had gone bust (my field especially, computer science,) so when the temporary visa expired, I had to get another student visa and start my Master's program, which I'm almost done with now.
Luckily, this past May, after almost 8 years, I found a company willing to sponsor me for a work visa and I've been working here ever since. The reason I'm still working on my Master's degree is that my immigration lawyer told me it might speed up the process for a green card, eventually.
Anyway, in all these years, I've always kept my status legal, I've always worked hard for my student visa (so hard, I graduated both times with a 4.0 average -- I was the Valedictorian both times too!), and I've never done anything that could jeopardize my chances of being able to stay in my partner's country without having to explain myself to the government.
Meanwhile, thousands of people every year cross the Mexico-US border (or other entry points) illegally to find a job in this country that will allow them (and their families) to live a better life. They do so in spite of the risk of getting caught and sent back to their countries of origin. They do so despite knowing that it's illegal.
So here is the situation: I've done my best, worked the hardest to respect the law (spending thousands of dollars in the process to keep my student visa active by going to school,) and now I'm faced with the possibility that millions of people who broke the law will be rewarded with the very same work visa I've not yet received. How would that make you feel?
I'm furious. I believe it's wrong. If you're here illegally, you broke the law. You should be deported. And you can't complain, because you knew exactly what you were doing and did it anyway, whatever the circumstances that brought you to that point. The law is the law. There are million others in my situation, I know, who have done all they could to follow the law, hoping some day to get a visa, and now we are left behind and the lawbreakers are rewarded for their illegal behavior. It's unfair, unjust, and unwise, since it will only spur more people to cross those borders illegally instead of legally.
I feel bad for those millions who risk their lives and spend all they have to come here to work the lowest paying and hardest jobs there are, jobs that Americans (and myself) don't want to do anyway. But I feel bad for myself too, since I've had to live with this cloud over my shoulders for eight long years (and it's not over yet.) I feel bad for my family, because my situation is not totally 'settled' and I have no idea when it will be. I feel bad for Ray because I was a 'burden' for him for all these years, because I couldn't legally work. And I didn't, 'cause I couldn't. They couldn't either, but they did it anyway. Who should be rewarded now?
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