There have been many opinions regarding what people think about those who are undocumented. People have been putting their two cents about how undocumented people can help themselves avoid deportation and problems with law enforcement.
Among many different and ignorant statements, my favorite is, "If you're undocumented, just get legal. It's that simple". Unfortunately, it's not "that" simple. If it were, don't you think many people would have gone through with the process? Also, that's most likely an immigrant in the United States ultimate goal. People either don't know how to go through with the permanent residency process, are scared of being deported, or they are already going through the process.
Undocumented people might not know how to begin the process of becoming permanent residents because they might be the first to do it in their family. It is difficult, at times, to find the right lawyer because some might not be able to successfully take on your case or some might be trying to scam you. Lawyers who scam those who are undocumented aren't rare.
Many take advantage of the situation and charge an arm and a leg for their services which aren't even guaranteed a success. Those who are undocumented rely on legal assistance because they may not how to fill out applications or paper work themselves or they don't want to fill it out incorrectly. All of this lack of knowledge is a huge set back and prolongs their fight for documents.
There have been cases where undocumented immigrants have to check in with I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or other people involved in law enforcement and have been deported. Many people are scared of submitting information to USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, for fear of having their information out in a system that is only going to deport them.
There have been cases when undocumented immigrants are too afraid to report abuse or anything to the police because if asked for documentation, they know they have nothing to show them. If even reporting crimes/incidents can lead to a devastating outcome, how can they trust submitting their information and admitting their immigration status to the government themselves?
If an undocumented immigrant was to apply for their green card, they would have to fit in to a specific category. You would either have to be petitioned from an employer, petitioned by a family member, or have been fleeing for humanitarian reasons. Even if you fit into one of these three, this doesn't mean that you get a speedy process.
Many people can wait anywhere from months to years for their permanent residency. I'm not talking about just one or two years, think about anywhere from 10 to 20 years to get permanent residency. I can speak on this because it took my family 18 and a half years for all four of us to finally get our permanent residency. This is why the statement "just get legal" frustrates me. Many people go through different paths to become "legal" in the U.S.
Each path is different and the timeline differs depending on the situation. It takes a long time to get your residency so in the mean time, people aren't going to be sitting around wasting space like many people think. In the mean time, people are working, people are going to school, people are raising their families, and in general, they are trying to make ends meet with the only resources available to them.
When you don't have proper documentation in the U.S, you don't have a lot to work with. This process takes a long time because there aren't just a couple of people waiting, there are possibly more than thousands of people waiting in this line that those who are ignorant want them to get in.
Like mentioned previously, some lawyers aren't ethical in their practice and can possibly be delaying your case for one reason or another. USCIS also deals with so many cases that they want to make sure each one is done correctly. It is never an over night process.
There is still so much left that people don't understand but this one statement is something I always wanted to get cleared up. Many people will still not be able to grasp what it truly means to wait for a green card.
This is when having an open mind and a conversation with someone who is going through this comes in handy. You can learn a lot by not assuming anything and simply researching or finding someone who is dealing with a situation and hearing their side of the story.
Trust me, all undocumented immigrants want is to get legalized. Don't think we haven't thought about it.
