Where Can an Alien Get Free Health Care?

We've heard from a State Senator in Wisconsin that the planned, "Healthy Wisconsin" universal health care plan that is slated for the next budget will NOT exclude illegal aliens. What this means is that the cost for Social Security to local employers will jump 4 percent. Payroll tax would be 10 percent.

However, the same draft of "Healthy Wisconsin" states that there will be a 12 month waiting period for non-residents. This means that if you show up from out of state and want in on the universal health care, you won't be eligible. But again we were told that no one in Wisconsin would be turned down.

Obviously they have some wrinkles to iron out.

If in fact no one would be turned down, residents of neighboring states, like Minnesota would simply drive over the border and check into a hospital or clinic.

The illegal alien subject was brought up and no one said they would be refused. This means once the word gets out - if "Healthy Wisconsin" does become law there - thousand of illegal aliens will make there way to Wisconsin to receive free health care.

It is true that anywhere you go for necessary health care in this country, you won't be turned away. The problem with being an illegal alien is that once you receive treatment - you better hope that you have enough to pay for it. Once billed, you will be sought for payment. And then you may be subject to further investigation.

Certainly, this isn't the way that people seeking immigration to the United States want things to happen - but if you are without proper documentation - this will be one red flag for the authorities.

We are not sure if they ask for immigrant status at hospitals, but they most likely don't. It's just not the way America works.

Law enforcement... that's another case.

Do I Really Want to be Legal?

Many illegal aliens could care less about becoming legal, documented aliens. This is because they do want the privilege of living and working in the United States, but they do not want the responsibility that comes with that.

For many, it's a dream - but many don't want the whole package.

The whole package of becoming legal includes paying taxes. And most don't want to do that. They want to live here, drive on roads built by taxes, go to schools paid by taxes, use services paid by taxes, but they don't want to pay those taxes.

Instead, they want to make their money tax free and many time send that money out of the United States. They want to keep even the part due as taxes.

And for the most part, they do keep it.

That's one of the major problems regular tax-paying Americans have with illegal aliens. Illegals for the most part want the right to make money, and live in America, without helping. Without paying their way. Instead they are a burden.

The pilgrims weren't a burden. The pilgrims paid for their way. They made sure they pulled their weight - they did their part. They sent nothing back to England. They had the name and all the responsibility with it.

That's the difference. Think about it. Do you really want to become legal?

Should I Wait to Start my Green Card Process?

After watching the CNN-YouTube debate on the Internet tonight, we are convinced that waiting to start your Green Card process "might" be a good thing. The reason is that we believe that the Democrats will win the election in 2008 and the top runners we think, believe in some form of organization to the Immigration problem which will probably include amnesty.

If it were up to us, we would wait to start the procedure.

What process are you using to gain your Green Card? Yes, there is a lottery, but your country must qualify. Many countries are not eligible. The lottery is not for every country. This is because some people who came before you came in masses and the United States Government believes that there is just too many of your nationality.

One of the first recommendations from immigrants in the United States who have acquired Green Cards, is to find a lawyer who concentrates only on Green Card processing. There are many of them; some even listed on this site. We agree that this is most likely the best way to get a Green Card in the United States besides marrying a United States citizen. We will go into how to pre-qualify an Immigration Lawyer for you at another time.

There is a filter you should use for things you hear on the street about Immigration and getting legalized in the United States. First of all, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Secondly, you should question the people who give you advice. How many people have actually had success getting legalized the way they say? Are they legal? And if they aren't, why aren't they doing this? Next, always consider the source. If they are a lawyer, or official - that should carry more weight. Use common sense.

Who would guess that the United States would be in this kind of situation as far as illegal immigrants coming across borders in the number we have today? Yet, we all know that something will be done to change what is happening. Either more people will be allowed in, or people that are here will be sent home.

Once here, many do not know what they are getting themselves into. For example, they want the privileges without the responsibility. They want the name American Citizen, but don't want to pay their share. Our view on this attitude will be in our next report here on Immigration Green Card.

Green Card Marriage

Did you realize that the number of people who marry for permanent residence in the United States is really high? Why is this a good way to become legal?

Some 400,000 American citizens marry foreigners each year - and later petition the U.S. Government for permanent documentation because when married, the alien becomes an immediate relative, thus valid for Green Card status.

But when you start thinking, someone here with a Green Card could possible marry an alien and have their status change. Yet, it's not that easy. That type of marriage is generally filled with problems when the paperwork starts. The best thing to do in this case is to consult an Immigration Lawyer.

One way is for the American citizen to get what's called a "temporary visa for a fiancee" and then after he or she arrives here, they get married and the paperwork is completed.

What the Citizenship and Immigration Services wants to find out is if the marriage was just for the Green Card, or do the two really love each other. And cases are found out. For example, one case in Dallas, where an Australian illegal alien married a permanent resident, Immigration Authorities simply called the couple and told them they knew that the Australian was still married to a Brazilian. Nevertheless, this person was later granted a Green Card and continues to work and live within the United States.

When the marriage happens outside the United States, the Citizenship and Immigration Services will need to receive from the American Citizen a visa petition for the foreign-born spouse. Once approved, the foreign-born spouse will receive a packet from the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The packet is will let the foreign-born spouse know what documents are needed for the interview which happens abroad - and contains documents which must be completed, signed and sent off to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country. The foreign-born spouse in normally granted a visa in three to six weeks.

Don't forget all of the fees involved in the above. It's not free and there are penalties if you are caught breaking the rules. For example, one fine of $150.00 was levied on a couple whose foreign-born spouse had made a trip outside the United States during the visa waiting period.

All in all, if you can find love, this is your best shot. There are many, many dating websites around with good people looking for only "love" and not hung up on your nationality. Try these first - and who knows - you may be looking at a Green Card much sooner than you think.

Mexicans Are Only Reclaiming Their Land

If you're not Mexican and you're trying to get into this country, this might be an interesting video to watch - to see how the border with Mexico is being overrun.

If you're an American and are worried about Mexicans walking across the border, this is a video to watch. It's an hour and fourteen minutes long, and worth seeing a view some people have on Illegal Immigration.

Deportation Separates Families

The number is astounding, but not impossible to fathom, given the degree most aliens want documentation to stay in America. Around 1.6 million children and spouses, according to Human Rights Watch, have been separated from their family. Why?

The 1996 immigration laws are to blame. Not many outside consider the loss of homes, businesses, and finances when deportation occurs. Alison Parker, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch says it has been devastating to American families.

Congress toughened the law back then making "aggravated felonies" part of the list of reason for deportation. Why this is a bad thing? Because families should stay together. But instead, only the offender is deported.

The law in 1996 was made retroactive, meaning even those who had served their time in jail were caught for deportation. They did not consider hearings in which judges could consider an immigrant's family. Nor did they think of their community standing, military service or what might happen once they got back to their native country.

And since then, 672,593 immigrants have been deported for crimes - this according to the Citizenship and Immigration Services, now part of the Homeland Security Department. What the Human Rights Watch did was combine numbers from CIS and Census data from foreign households here and came up with their statistics on how many have been left behind.

ICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells us that 64.4 percent of immigrants that were sent back in 2005 were convicts - of non-violent crimes. Around 20.9 percent were sent home for crimes that were violent.

Parker submits that it is hard to tell a child that his father has been sent thousands of miles away because he was caught forging a check. The answer might be to deport the whole family.

Texas Representative Lamar Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, has said that immigrants who break the law forfeit their right to be in the U.S. And Steve Camorata may have the solution - a research director at the Center for Immigration Studies - Steve says the family CAN leave with the deported person. He claims that children constantly bear the consequences of their parents' poor decisions.

But some have tried to leave to no avail.

Wayne Smith and Hugo Armendariz, immigrants, have filed a complaint against the U.S. government because they were ordered deported. The filing, through the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, has a hearing this Friday.

The Human Rights Watch report can be found at http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0707/

How Fast Can I Get a Green Card

If you're a professional worker seeking a Green Card, today was your day. Immigration Services here in the United States said they would begin to accept applications immediately. It was earlier this month (July 2007) that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped the process altogether - leaving the Green Card requests for skilled workers (H1-B visas), with nowhere to turn.

There were a lot of the H1-B visa holders who did everything they could to make it under the July 1 deadline but the State Department said there was such a backlog, they wouldn't be able to process anything until the Fall.

Naturally people were upset.

Senator Charles Schumer, D NY, called on the State Department to reverse that decision, and it apparently worked - USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez said that the public reaction to the July 2 announcement made it clear that the federal government's management of this process needs further review.

The reversal is very welcome. If you are a H1-B visa holder, you have a breath of fresh air.

Can I Be Deported?

Immigration officers come to a home at a time when they suspect the illegal alien will be there. For example, a case in Miami of a Colombian illegal found officers knocking at her door at 6 AM. Yes, they can come at any hour - if you have a deportation order, or are suspected of some crime. In America, you will NOT find people stopping you or knocking on your door without cause.

The Colombian woman had deportation papers already filed against her. The Immigration officers were simply doing their job to detain her and send her back to Colombia. However, she never opened the door, and immediately went into hiding with her husband and two children. There are more than 500,000 illegals hiding who are in the deportation process. So why couldn't the officers simply bust in and catch her?

Again, they can't, but even so it is difficult keeping up with so many illegals set for deportation. Since the Senate immigration bill did not go through - the bill that would have given assistance to millions of undocumented immigrants to get their Green Cards, and given a shot in the arm for enforcement - some $4.4 billion was on the slate, immigration rights advocates claim raids are going to skyrocket.

Homeland Security and police will head this up, they say, but the numbers show that there is probably little risk of getting deported. There were 17,817 deported in 2006. There are 632,190 fugitives of the deportation system identified. This doesn't take into account the thousands of others that are deported by immigration judges. This is simply the number for those already tagged as deportable. Which means - it would take over 20 years at the current enforcement for the 600 thousand to be sent home.

The proceedings take too long, say some, and there aren't enough officers to work the task. The way it is wired today, it's impossible. And some have criminal records here. So deporting them would be difficult.

So can you be deported? The answer is YES, if you are here illegally. And reentry into the United States is next to impossible via any normal gateway where a passport and visa are required.

The Miami office is getting better at deporting. Over 35,000 cases have been resolved recently. With the new Fugitive Operations Support Center in Burlington, Vermont, more leads with better ways to track them have come in. Since February in Miami-Dade alone, 53 teams have been assigned to track down deportation-ordered fugitives and there are more teams to come.

Can a Local Police Deport Me?

Two days ago, one of our friends heard from illegal aliens in Florida that the local police have the authority to deport you. And it's true that there is much more activity in local communities about enforcing their own flavor of immigration law because the US Immigration Reform law did not pass in Congress.

For instance, Prince William County in Virginia, have their police force begin enforcing illegal immigration. When they stop somebody they've arrested, they are authorized to check the citizenship status of the person or persons - and see if there is "probable cause" that they are in the United States illegally. But even here, the county board hasn't really come up with what "probable cause" is.

That doesn't mean illegals stopped go free.

Prince William County is checking drivers licenses. If you don't have one, there is a good chance you are illegal. You can't get one without being a citizen, or if you're on a visa that permits one.

And at the same time, many counties across the United States are reluctant to let their local police departments enforce the law against illegals for worry that their departments just might face a harassment suit - (or racial profiling).

This just can't be avoided - ethnic profiling... You know if you look the part, you will have a higher chance of being picked out and asked if you are here legally. But this did get Hazelton, Pennsylvania, in trouble recently when they passed law saying landlord face penalties if they rent to illegals, or hire them. The ACLU challenged and a decision is expected soon.

The question as to whether local authorities can enforce federal immigration law is worth considering. From what we've seen, the answer is YES. Many counties have agreements with the Department of Homeland Security, and they screen anyone pulled over for legal status. So if you're driving, and something happens, say... the car beside you accidentally hits you and they call the police; if you don't have proof that you are in the United States legally, you may be detain and then eventually deported.