Billboards not fences better for illegal immigration

[caption id="attachment_11487" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest"][/caption]

Editor - An immigration attorney tells us that spending a lot of money on illegal immigration, making new laws, or building fences isn't the
answer to illegal immigration but education is.  This means billboards, if we have to, not fences that do nothing but keep people finding ways to get over, beneath or around them.


Illegal immigration has been a problem for years according to lawyer
Steven Riznyk who has been dealing with this for a long time.  Now it might not be just a simple fix, but education on many levels is important, Riznyk declares.  That's because many people don't know much about U.S. immigration on both sides of the border.


"People have amazing theories about what works and doesn't work. They
will spend years following a rumor about what it takes to obtain a
certain status in the U.S. only to find out at the time they are ready
to apply that they were on the wrong track all along." Riznyk says.


An example of the ignorance about this is explained by Riznyk this way.
"Just today, a potential client called who believed that if you just
make it into the United States they will let you stay.  These rumors
have been circulating for decades and just don't stop."


Riznyk goes on to explain how important it is to stop those rumors.  "We
need to take an approach similar to the one where you teach the farmer
to grow his own food, not just band-aid him by supplying his needs at
the moment. Spend all the money you want on enforcement and people will
just find ways around it; our history has demonstrated this. "


One of the problems about immigration is that lots of people, including
professionals, don't know what they need to know about immigration as
Rizynk tells us.


Mr Riznyk states, "Most lawyers do not understand the system;
immigration officers have informed me they only understand a narrow area
of it, and we expect the public to somehow get it...it's impossible."


Rizynk continues to explain how U.S. immigration law is one of the most
complex areas of law in the world, with federal cases being decided
daily and procedures changing on a regular basis.   This is what needs
to be clarified for the public: illegal immigration, visiting the
country and marriage to a U.S. citizen.


People need to know the problem of illegal immigration and what to
expect if they enter the United States illegally, coming from over the
border.  People in Mexico, for example, hear rumors and feel they have
nothing to lose by trying.


"I feel", states Mr Riznyk. "that if we were able to educate people on
the fundamental issues of immigration law they wouldn't waste their
time, put their lives at risk, and ruin their families in order to take a
chance on the system here."


What are the basics people need to know?  For one thing, contrary to
opinions on both sides of the border, the U.S. has very harsh
consequences for criminal backgrounds and in some cases no waivers for
people who lie about how they got to the United States and other related
stories.   When they get it, it is often too late; because they don't
understand the consequences of finding out one is an illegal immigrant
can be difficult.


"The first time they discover this information is when they call us,
after they have married a U.S. citizen and maybe even had a child. In
many cases, the marriages are not real, but the U.S. citizen spouse
doesn't even suspect it; the child is a pawn for immigration purposes,"
says Riznyk.


If education is the answer, how should it be done?  Riznyk continues how
important it is to do something.  "I know this sounds simplistic, but
if you have to rent billboards in both countries by the border, just do
it.


Here are a few more specifics, Riznyk enumerates. "Explain some of the
simple concepts. The issue is that if you make this into a military
operation, the other side will just find new ways of penetrating the
border; it will be a cat-and-mouse game and when will it end? If I could
afford to, I would give away our DVDs so that people would, for the
first time, understand our complex system."


The DVDs he is referring to are an almost 5-hour program he spent a year
and a half developing as a result of questions he was asked in his
seminars worldwide; it covers every single visa and Green Card and what
the requirements are. In easy-to-understand language it is available in
English and Spanish, with a majority of the profits going to a charity Mr Riznyk has developed.


Mr Riznyk's office gets a lot of calls from people who have entered the
U.S. illegally and many think marrying a citizen solves all the
problems.  However, the specific procedure for taking care of this after
the fact  is to have the person here illegally go to their own country
for an interview (meaning they could be locked out of the U.S.) and
present an extreme hardship waiver.  Most folks find they either don't
qualify or can't afford it. In that case, they most likely remain in the
U.S. waiting for an amnesty.


What about one's immigrant status if they have a child in the United
States.  Mr Riznyk says, "Many people believe that having a U.S. citizen
child will remedy the situation, and many innocent children are born
for no other reason than the fact that they are an immigration vehicle
for their parents, and this is wrong, but very much a by-product of a
lack of understanding about the laws. This really troubles me." These
children will not receive the love and attention they deserve. Abandoned
by their parents when they are no longer of any use, they will take to
the streets and help fill up our prisons along the way. They will cause
injury to themselves as well as to U.S. citizens along the way.


In other instances, people enter the country legally and overstay their
visas. Many of these people marry U.S. citizens and are not aware that
they could file a legitimate case and obtain a Green Card and work
authorization. They are afraid of our punitive and unforgiving system
and as a result they stay away from the CIS (Citizenship and Immigration
Services or immigration department) as well as immigration lawyers out
of fear. These people are now here illegally, but due to the simple
technicality of not filling out the forms that are required. Again, this
can be easily remedied.


Another area where we face problems is with visitors to the United
States. If someone is asked why they are visiting and, for example,
state that they love the country and would consider living here, they
will be denied under INA 214(b). Potentially, these people may never be
able to visit the U.S. again.


"Once again, "states Mr Riznyk, "we don't make our laws very clear and
no one understands what they can and cannot do."  Here is an example he
used:  A friend of mine had a card in her luggage from her aunt that
stated "good luck in America." She was going to visit the U.S. for a
week. This led to a 4-hour interrogation and a bar from the United
States. Her trip was an innocent one, but the laws are so inflexible,
and the officers many times apply them so rigidly that innocent visits
become nightmare situations for people who in the future lie about their
intentions and resent the United States for what happened during their
visit.


Our approach may be more successful if we educate and work 'with'
people entering rather than looking at them in some strange way.  People
need to understand power and intimidation, especially when applied to
innocents, Riznyk explains.


"Finally," as Riznk concludes, "There are no easy answers to our
problem with illegal immigration. However, a large number of people who
are here illegally do qualify for Green Cards but don't know it. Others
don't ever have a chance, even if an amnesty passes, but don't know
that. We need to find a way to educate the public."