Very interesting considering the immigration issues going on in Arizona, and in the entire country...
Arizona Living
The hard way home
by Richard Ruelas - Aug. 31, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
When Oscar Vazquez left the United States as an illegal immigrant a year ago, leaving behind a wife and baby daughter, it was so he could try to do the right thing - become a legal resident of the country he called home.
Even as he crossed into Mexico, the Arizona State University engineering graduate knew it could be years before he could legally be allowed to return.
But on Monday, Vazquez, 24, was visiting his old high school, his wife at his side and legal documents in his pocket. It was an unexpected outcome for the now-legal U.S. resident.
"Even though it took a year, I feel it came out good," said Vazquez, who had lived in the U.S. since the age of 12 when he and his mother crossed the border near Douglas.
The prospects for Vazquez's return were slim, as he initially was denied re-entry, his case deemed not strong enough. But publicity about his struggle and the intervention of a high-ranking U.S. senator spurred the government to allow Vazquez back in.
Vazquez graduated from ASU in 2009. He was one of three graduates whose stories were told before the crowd at Sun Devil Stadium and in front of that year's commencement speaker, President Barack Obama.
But Vazquez knew that his legal status meant he wouldn't be able to use his degree. And he was weary of politicians dragging their feet on the promise of immigration reform.
So he took matters into his own hands. Shortly after his graduation, he deported himself, asking for legal permission to return. His story was told in The Arizona Republic, on CNN and on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Vazquez said he was contacted by the office of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Durbin, the Senate majority whip, supports the DREAM Act, legislation that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who entered as children and had attended college or joined the military.
With Durbin on board, Vazquez said, "it was fast."
A Durbin aide, who spoke only on the condition his name not be used, confirmed that the office made the Department of Homeland Security aware that the senator was monitoring the case.
Vazquez expects to receive his Social Security card in about two weeks and will start looking for work in the engineering field.
Vazquez was on the Carl Hayden High School team that beat out several colleges, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an underwater-robotics competition in 2007. The triumph of the four undocumented high-school students was featured in Wired magazine. On Monday, Vazquez showed up at the Phoenix high school to talk with his robotics coach, Faridodin Lajvardi. Two other members of that four-person team were there, making for an impromptu reunion of that victorious team.
Lorenzo Santillan, one of the four, said he had tried to gain legal status but found he couldn't. He doesn't have the family ties that Vazquez does.
"He's an example of what can happen," Santillan said of Vazquez, "but it's hard."
It was an unexpected ending to a story that began last summer when Vazquez applied for residency. His application was denied, and he was asked to submit additional evidence of hardship to his wife and daughter, both U.S. citizens. He was told a final decision would come in March.
So Vazquez waited, living in Magdalena del Kino, a dusty town in Sonora, Mexico, working at an auto-parts factory. Karla Vazquez visited regularly with Samantha, 2.
Vazquez's story was told July 4 in The Republic. Durbin got involved soon after.
Senator was key
Without Durbin, Vazquez likely would still be waiting. Because he stayed in the U.S. so long after he turned 18, Vazquez faced a 10-year wait to apply for legal status. Waivers of that bar are difficult to obtain, said Jody Santiago, an immigration lawyer who grew up in Mesa and now practices in San Francisco. Applicants must prove that their absence from the United States causes an extreme hardship to family members who are citizens.
"It's nebulous," she said of the standard. "It's a term of art which no one really has an exact definition of."
Santiago said that "getting the story out in the paper and getting the attention of senators and representatives really helps."
Just 10 days after Oscar's story appeared, Karla Vazquez, received the letter saying her husband's visa waiver had been approved.
Karla was about to head to Mexico for another visit when she checked the mail.
"It just said, 'Your waiver was approved,' " she recalled.
Karla told her husband the good news as soon as she arrived.
"We were just looking at it (the letter)," he said, "just to make sure it was true."
The couple kept the news to themselves; even their Facebook posts made no mention of the government's decision. They didn't want to jinx their good fortune.
Vazquez met with the U.S. Consulate on Thursday and received paperwork Friday that allowed him to cross back into the United States.
Little fanfare
It was a much different entrance from Vazquez's first one when, at age 12, he and his mother dashed across the border near Douglas into a van waiting in a Walmart parking lot.
His entry as a legal resident was short on ceremony. Vazquez said a clerk simply stamped his passport and told him that his visa allowed him to live and work in the United States.
Vazquez stepped onto U.S. soil and waited for the bus to Phoenix. In the meantime, he ate at KFC.
His wife met him at the Phoenix bus station.
"It's just hard to describe," Vazquez said about seeing his family, holding documents that mean he no longer has to look over his shoulder. "It's amazing just to be back home."
Vazquez said he realized his was a unique case and that he was aided by political pressure. Had it not been for Durbin's intervention, he thinks his waiver would have been denied.
"A lot of people think that, 'Why don't you do it the right way?' " he said. "But many people can't."
If his waiver had been denied, the Vazquezes had discussed moving to Mexico City, Canada or Europe.
Instead, they spent a weekend together at their home in south Phoenix, the happy reunion starting as soon as Vazquez stepped off the bus early Saturday.
On Monday, Vazquez and his wife went to surprise Lajvardi, the man who got Vazquez started in robotics. Lajvardi gathered his current students around him and introduced Vazquez. His students had seen video of Durbin telling Vazquez's story on the Senate floor.
"All that time, I kept telling you how you need to fight, fight, fight," Lajvardi told the students. "It worked."
The team gave Vazquez a group hug.
The hard way home
by Richard Ruelas - Aug. 31, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
When Oscar Vazquez left the United States as an illegal immigrant a year ago, leaving behind a wife and baby daughter, it was so he could try to do the right thing - become a legal resident of the country he called home.
Even as he crossed into Mexico, the Arizona State University engineering graduate knew it could be years before he could legally be allowed to return.
But on Monday, Vazquez, 24, was visiting his old high school, his wife at his side and legal documents in his pocket. It was an unexpected outcome for the now-legal U.S. resident.
"Even though it took a year, I feel it came out good," said Vazquez, who had lived in the U.S. since the age of 12 when he and his mother crossed the border near Douglas.
The prospects for Vazquez's return were slim, as he initially was denied re-entry, his case deemed not strong enough. But publicity about his struggle and the intervention of a high-ranking U.S. senator spurred the government to allow Vazquez back in.
Vazquez graduated from ASU in 2009. He was one of three graduates whose stories were told before the crowd at Sun Devil Stadium and in front of that year's commencement speaker, President Barack Obama.
But Vazquez knew that his legal status meant he wouldn't be able to use his degree. And he was weary of politicians dragging their feet on the promise of immigration reform.
So he took matters into his own hands. Shortly after his graduation, he deported himself, asking for legal permission to return. His story was told in The Arizona Republic, on CNN and on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Vazquez said he was contacted by the office of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Durbin, the Senate majority whip, supports the DREAM Act, legislation that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who entered as children and had attended college or joined the military.
With Durbin on board, Vazquez said, "it was fast."
A Durbin aide, who spoke only on the condition his name not be used, confirmed that the office made the Department of Homeland Security aware that the senator was monitoring the case.
Vazquez expects to receive his Social Security card in about two weeks and will start looking for work in the engineering field.
Vazquez was on the Carl Hayden High School team that beat out several colleges, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an underwater-robotics competition in 2007. The triumph of the four undocumented high-school students was featured in Wired magazine. On Monday, Vazquez showed up at the Phoenix high school to talk with his robotics coach, Faridodin Lajvardi. Two other members of that four-person team were there, making for an impromptu reunion of that victorious team.
Lorenzo Santillan, one of the four, said he had tried to gain legal status but found he couldn't. He doesn't have the family ties that Vazquez does.
"He's an example of what can happen," Santillan said of Vazquez, "but it's hard."
It was an unexpected ending to a story that began last summer when Vazquez applied for residency. His application was denied, and he was asked to submit additional evidence of hardship to his wife and daughter, both U.S. citizens. He was told a final decision would come in March.
So Vazquez waited, living in Magdalena del Kino, a dusty town in Sonora, Mexico, working at an auto-parts factory. Karla Vazquez visited regularly with Samantha, 2.
Vazquez's story was told July 4 in The Republic. Durbin got involved soon after.
Senator was key
Without Durbin, Vazquez likely would still be waiting. Because he stayed in the U.S. so long after he turned 18, Vazquez faced a 10-year wait to apply for legal status. Waivers of that bar are difficult to obtain, said Jody Santiago, an immigration lawyer who grew up in Mesa and now practices in San Francisco. Applicants must prove that their absence from the United States causes an extreme hardship to family members who are citizens.
"It's nebulous," she said of the standard. "It's a term of art which no one really has an exact definition of."
Santiago said that "getting the story out in the paper and getting the attention of senators and representatives really helps."
Just 10 days after Oscar's story appeared, Karla Vazquez, received the letter saying her husband's visa waiver had been approved.
Karla was about to head to Mexico for another visit when she checked the mail.
"It just said, 'Your waiver was approved,' " she recalled.
Karla told her husband the good news as soon as she arrived.
"We were just looking at it (the letter)," he said, "just to make sure it was true."
The couple kept the news to themselves; even their Facebook posts made no mention of the government's decision. They didn't want to jinx their good fortune.
Vazquez met with the U.S. Consulate on Thursday and received paperwork Friday that allowed him to cross back into the United States.
Little fanfare
It was a much different entrance from Vazquez's first one when, at age 12, he and his mother dashed across the border near Douglas into a van waiting in a Walmart parking lot.
His entry as a legal resident was short on ceremony. Vazquez said a clerk simply stamped his passport and told him that his visa allowed him to live and work in the United States.
Vazquez stepped onto U.S. soil and waited for the bus to Phoenix. In the meantime, he ate at KFC.
His wife met him at the Phoenix bus station.
"It's just hard to describe," Vazquez said about seeing his family, holding documents that mean he no longer has to look over his shoulder. "It's amazing just to be back home."
Vazquez said he realized his was a unique case and that he was aided by political pressure. Had it not been for Durbin's intervention, he thinks his waiver would have been denied.
"A lot of people think that, 'Why don't you do it the right way?' " he said. "But many people can't."
If his waiver had been denied, the Vazquezes had discussed moving to Mexico City, Canada or Europe.
Instead, they spent a weekend together at their home in south Phoenix, the happy reunion starting as soon as Vazquez stepped off the bus early Saturday.
On Monday, Vazquez and his wife went to surprise Lajvardi, the man who got Vazquez started in robotics. Lajvardi gathered his current students around him and introduced Vazquez. His students had seen video of Durbin telling Vazquez's story on the Senate floor.
"All that time, I kept telling you how you need to fight, fight, fight," Lajvardi told the students. "It worked."
The team gave Vazquez a group hug.
The topic of illegal immigration is a difficult one, with a lot of implications. And it’s an issue that I don’t think will be resolved quickly or easily. There are legal and social implications for society as well as for the individuals involved. It’s great to read a story where someone looked at the pros and cons of his own situation and took hold of the reins, even though he didn’t know where it would lead.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the trepidation he must have felt as he left his family behind, not knowing if he would ever be let back into the country he had grown up in. I served a mission in the Netherlands, and there we worked with many individuals who were trying to gain legal status in the country. Any time anyone would knock on their door, they were afraid it was the police and they were going to be deported. I’d imagine that it is the same here—that each illegal immigrant experiences fear as they think about their future in America.
To be honest, I’m not really up to date on the latest immigration talk in America since I have been gone for so long. But those who have lived almost their whole lives here know almost nothing else—what would it be like to send them back? There are many just like Vazquez who came here as a child, grew up trying to make the most of his life here and contribute to the American society.
Broaching the topic of immigration will require, just as it did from Vazquez, courage, boldness, and taking hold of the reins of one's own life. However, even for someone like Vazquez, it is extremely difficult to become legal. It wasn’t until a senator stepped in that the process was expedited. I’d personally like to see a solution that involves making legal status easier to attain for those who are already here while making illegal immigration more difficult in the future. I definitely need to read up on the topic. From what you all have heard/read what are some of the most viable options?
This story seems more to be an exception. Without the help of political leaders, the process would have taken a lot longer. Eventually, he would probably not get the opportunity to become a legal citizen. Velasquez went above and beyond to make his dreams come true. Unfortunately, this story is the exception. For many, their dreams of becoming a legal citizen in this country is just, well, a dream.
ReplyDeleteI admire his story of persistence. He came into this country and received a high education. From this story, you can tell that he was a hard worker. He worked hard to achieve his goals, not just academically but also with his robotics teams.
It must be difficult to live in this country most of his life and build a family here, and then realize that you had to go back to a different country. His home isn't in Mexico, it's in the States. This is all he knows, all his most recent memories are here.
This story gives faith to people. This country is the land of opportunity. People are able to rise above their situation and make their dreams come true. Vasquez is an example of the American dream, he worked hard to be where he is today.
"A lot of people think that, 'Why don't you do it the right way?' " he said. "But many people can't."
ReplyDeleteI liked this story but as already mentioned, this is an exception to the rule.
I realize that I am not an expert on immigration and I doubt any of you are. There are many facts about the pros and cons of immigration that I am simply not aware of. I do not think there is one easy answer to the problem, but I do think it is right to help people such as Oscar Vazquez.The legal way to immigration should not be such a jumbled mess that takes years and years to process. People who have already proven to be upstanding citizens, who want to live by the laws of our society and who have already contributed to making our society better should be given a chance to live in our country lawfully.