ARTICLE
It is time for Congress to Act I am going off course from our usual Chamber eNews articles because this week’s issue needs to be addressed. I usually don’t weigh in on our national affairs as a general policy, but when the issue impacts our community it is necessary to respond. Congress needs to act now on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Executive Oder that was reversed by the Trump Administration. Let me be very clear, the Chamber is not taking a formal position on this national issue so my comments are my own. Though I believe they reflect the opinions of the majority from Santa Cruz, California, and the Country. To help put my comments into context, let me share with you about my professional background. The United States is a country of immigrants each with her/his own story. The fabric of our country is clothed in the diversity of people. We are a richer country for it. Early in my career I worked for members of the US Congress and had the responsibility to handle thousands and thousands of constituent cases relative to US Immigration law. As a staff assistant in the 1980s and as a Chief of Staff during the 1990s, our congressional offices handled more immigration case work than any other type of constituent matters — that was the nature of being in Silicon Valley where our area thrives on immigrants who bring talent to our region. Also, along the way immigrants from across the globe come here because they have family ties and other foreign nationals similar to their ancestry. First we must ask, how did we get here: The DREAM Act, a piece of legislation meant to give undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, was first introduced in 2001. That legislation stalled many times in Congress. In 2012, President Barack Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. While it didn’t give them a path to citizenship, DACA offered DREAMers (the name attached to these young immigrants) a temporary grant of protection from deportation and a permit to work legally in the US. The protections last two years, after which immigrants can apply to renew their temporary status. If you recall, during the early part of the Obama Administration’s second term he and the Congressional leadership attempted to work out comprehensive immigration reform. We were close to a consensus but as usual, politics on both sides got in the way as an election was nearing and neither middle road Democrats or Republicans who supported some sort of compromise would budge to vote for any legislative proposal for fear of losing an election. During the 1980s and 1990s, I worked on immigration casework assisting immigrants, permanent residents and US citizens to navigate the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now an agency under Department of Homeland Security. The role of a Congressional staff is to ensure that each and every constituent is afforded access to a government agency. We provided access to the agency’s decisions making process, but we did not takes sides on one constituent’s file vs. another — that decision was and is the discretion of the federal agency. During those years, I saw thousands of individuals from all over the world come to the United States as foreign visitors, foreign students, and refugees from Vietnam, Central America and Iran and every country around the globe. Many of these immigrants came to the United States for the very reason that most come — for a better opportunity in America. Of course, I ran across some unsavory immigrants who tried to use a Congressional inquiry to gain a quicker response that would lead to legal residency status in the United States. Regrettably, when those unsavory individuals called our Congressional office for assistance, we treated them as any other constituent and in the process they received a fair hearing before the INS. In numerous instances, their case was handled judiciously and the law was applied accordingly. And yes, many of those immigrants faced deportation. I can provide hundreds of stories of immigration cases that were granted the benefits they deserved under INS law and numerous stories that ended up not so good for the individual. In every instance the INS applied the law correctly. One special case is an example: A young high school student-athlete who came to the US as a Vietnamese refugee. This young man’s father worked for the South Vietnamese Army as a liaison to the US government during the Vietnam War. After the war ended he was barred to a life in Vietnam by the North Vietnamese government. He wanted a better life for his young son so he arranged for him to escape Vietnam on a small dingy with dozens of Vietnamese leaving a country for a better life. The small dingy was rescued by a US Navy ship at high seas. The Vietnamese were taken to the Philippines where they were granted refugee status if eligible or returned to Vietnam. This young boy had family relatives in the US and eventually two plus years later was able to join them. He came to the US as a refugee. Eventually through his relatives he applied and received lawful permanent resident status. This young student worked three jobs to put himself through school and to support his grandparents. During his middle school and high school years, the family moved several times, yet at each school he was a scholar student, competed in athletics, and was active in community affairs. As he began his senior year of high school as one of schools top students and ROTC cadet, he wanted to apply to the US Naval Academy because it was a US Navy ship that saved his life. In return he dreamed he would serve his country - America. I’ll get to the end of that story in a minute. That young man’s dream is no different from the dreams of today’s immigrants. They arrived in this country at a young age at no fault of their own. They have been grounded in attending school, getting good grades and being model citizens. Of course there are checks and balances in every case, if they don’t follow the DACA rules they lose their temporary status. Now that the Trump Administration has made the choice to reverse the Obama Executive Order it leaves open the responsibility for Congress to take action. Doing nothing is not acceptable. The window of time for Congress to reverse course from the current administration agenda and make right with immigration reform has never been better. The American people want Congress to take action on many fronts — and what better time than the present to show its mettel? No matter what side of the issue you are on, we elected our Congress to respond to America’s needs. Let’s hold them accountable. Now, to the end of story about the young Vietnamese refugee turned scholar athlete. He applied for a slot in the Naval Academy through our Congressional nomination process. Each year Congressional offices throughout the country can make a recommendation to the academies on nominees based on their educational excellence, their student and community life and their ability to meet the high rigors of the academy entrance exam — both academic and physical. In Silicon Valley and the Bay Area region it is a very competitive process. This young student applied and the Congressional nomination committee thought he was one of the best candidates. However, he lacked one important requirement to be accepted — that of becoming a US citizen after his 18th birthday and before the Naval Academy’s July 1 cutoff date. He did not have a sponsoring parent to apply earlier than his 18th birthday — parents remained in Vietnam. It would take a special case for him to become a US citizen — a process that usually takes 18 months to two years after eligibility. However, in Immigration Law there was one special circumstance that if a US Government agency (in this case, the Navy) found that an applicant had meritorious requirements to serve his country, that agency could petition the INS for expedited treatment. The Navy wrote a letter on his behalf. The INS process would have to be fast paced to meet a deadline only 60 days away. Our Congressional Office made official inquiries to the INS knowing the likelihood that this process could be completed in time was near impossible. Nonetheless, we afforded this young “Dreamer” with a chance. Miracles do happen and on June 15, 2000, the young man graduated high school and turned 18 - and less than two weeks later on July 1, 2000, he was sworn in as a US Citizen and off he went to Annapolis to begin his Naval career. A Ship of Dreams came true. For all those dreamers of this era, we hope that a special case can be made for those most deserving.
It is time for Congress to Act
I am going off course from our usual Chamber eNews articles because this week’s issue needs to be addressed. I usually don’t weigh in on our national affairs as a general policy, but when the issue impacts our community it is necessary to respond. Congress needs to act now on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Executive Oder that was reversed by the Trump Administration.
Let me be very clear, the Chamber is not taking a formal position on this national issue so my comments are my own. Though I believe they reflect the opinions of the majority from Santa Cruz, California, and the Country.
To help put my comments into context, let me share with you about my professional background. The United States is a country of immigrants each with her/his own story. The fabric of our country is clothed in the diversity of people. We are a richer country for it.
Early in my career I worked for members of the US Congress and had the responsibility to handle thousands and thousands of constituent cases relative to US Immigration law. As a staff assistant in the 1980s and as a Chief of Staff during the 1990s, our congressional offices handled more immigration case work than any other type of constituent matters — that was the nature of being in Silicon Valley where our area thrives on immigrants who bring talent to our region. Also, along the way immigrants from across the globe come here because they have family ties and other foreign nationals similar to their ancestry.
First we must ask, how did we get here: The DREAM Act, a piece of legislation meant to give undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, was first introduced in 2001. That legislation stalled many times in Congress. In 2012, President Barack Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. While it didn’t give them a path to citizenship, DACA offered DREAMers (the name attached to these young immigrants) a temporary grant of protection from deportation and a permit to work legally in the US. The protections last two years, after which immigrants can apply to renew their temporary status.
If you recall, during the early part of the Obama Administration’s second term he and the Congressional leadership attempted to work out comprehensive immigration reform. We were close to a consensus but as usual, politics on both sides got in the way as an election was nearing and neither middle road Democrats or Republicans who supported some sort of compromise would budge to vote for any legislative proposal for fear of losing an election.
During the 1980s and 1990s, I worked on immigration casework assisting immigrants, permanent residents and US citizens to navigate the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now an agency under Department of Homeland Security. The role of a Congressional staff is to ensure that each and every constituent is afforded access to a government agency. We provided access to the agency’s decisions making process, but we did not takes sides on one constituent’s file vs. another — that decision was and is the discretion of the federal agency. During those years, I saw thousands of individuals from all over the world come to the United States as foreign visitors, foreign students, and refugees from Vietnam, Central America and Iran and every country around the globe. Many of these immigrants came to the United States for the very reason that most come — for a better opportunity in America. Of course, I ran across some unsavory immigrants who tried to use a Congressional inquiry to gain a quicker response that would lead to legal residency status in the United States. Regrettably, when those unsavory individuals called our Congressional office for assistance, we treated them as any other constituent and in the process they received a fair hearing before the INS. In numerous instances, their case was handled judiciously and the law was applied accordingly. And yes, many of those immigrants faced deportation. I can provide hundreds of stories of immigration cases that were granted the benefits they deserved under INS law and numerous stories that ended up not so good for the individual. In every instance the INS applied the law correctly.
One special case is an example: A young high school student-athlete who came to the US as a Vietnamese refugee. This young man’s father worked for the South Vietnamese Army as a liaison to the US government during the Vietnam War. After the war ended he was barred to a life in Vietnam by the North Vietnamese government. He wanted a better life for his young son so he arranged for him to escape Vietnam on a small dingy with dozens of Vietnamese leaving a country for a better life. The small dingy was rescued by a US Navy ship at high seas. The Vietnamese were taken to the Philippines where they were granted refugee status if eligible or returned to Vietnam. This young boy had family relatives in the US and eventually two plus years later was able to join them. He came to the US as a refugee. Eventually through his relatives he applied and received lawful permanent resident status. This young student worked three jobs to put himself through school and to support his grandparents. During his middle school and high school years, the family moved several times, yet at each school he was a scholar student, competed in athletics, and was active in community affairs. As he began his senior year of high school as one of schools top students and ROTC cadet, he wanted to apply to the US Naval Academy because it was a US Navy ship that saved his life. In return he dreamed he would serve his country - America. I’ll get to the end of that story in a minute.
That young man’s dream is no different from the dreams of today’s immigrants. They arrived in this country at a young age at no fault of their own. They have been grounded in attending school, getting good grades and being model citizens. Of course there are checks and balances in every case, if they don’t follow the DACA rules they lose their temporary status.
Now that the Trump Administration has made the choice to reverse the Obama Executive Order it leaves open the responsibility for Congress to take action. Doing nothing is not acceptable. The window of time for Congress to reverse course from the current administration agenda and make right with immigration reform has never been better. The American people want Congress to take action on many fronts — and what better time than the present to show its mettel? No matter what side of the issue you are on, we elected our Congress to respond to America’s needs. Let’s hold them accountable.
Now, to the end of story about the young Vietnamese refugee turned scholar athlete. He applied for a slot in the Naval Academy through our Congressional nomination process. Each year Congressional offices throughout the country can make a recommendation to the academies on nominees based on their educational excellence, their student and community life and their ability to meet the high rigors of the academy entrance exam — both academic and physical. In Silicon Valley and the Bay Area region it is a very competitive process. This young student applied and the Congressional nomination committee thought he was one of the best candidates. However, he lacked one important requirement to be accepted — that of becoming a US citizen after his 18th birthday and before the Naval Academy’s July 1 cutoff date. He did not have a sponsoring parent to apply earlier than his 18th birthday — parents remained in Vietnam. It would take a special case for him to become a US citizen — a process that usually takes 18 months to two years after eligibility. However, in Immigration Law there was one special circumstance that if a US Government agency (in this case, the Navy) found that an applicant had meritorious requirements to serve his country, that agency could petition the INS for expedited treatment. The Navy wrote a letter on his behalf. The INS process would have to be fast paced to meet a deadline only 60 days away. Our Congressional Office made official inquiries to the INS knowing the likelihood that this process could be completed in time was near impossible. Nonetheless, we afforded this young “Dreamer” with a chance. Miracles do happen and on June 15, 2000, the young man graduated high school and turned 18 - and less than two weeks later on July 1, 2000, he was sworn in as a US Citizen and off he went to Annapolis to begin his Naval career. A Ship of Dreams came true.
For all those dreamers of this era, we hope that a special case can be made for those most deserving.