America is a country built on its immigrants.
We all came from somewhere else and ended up here in the greatest country with all of its blessings.
Our forefathers and mothers battled the ocean on ships no one would even think about traversing a waterway on these days. They went through hell, persevered and puked and somehow survived and became Americans. My ancestors came over on one of the Pilgrim boats that landed at Plymouth Rock and the rest came from Ireland during the potato famine. It wasn’t easy and many didn’t make it through the gauntlet to get to America.
Our borders have been porous for quite some time with interrupted building of walls to keep out those who want to come in illegally and not “get in line” to enter the greatest country in the world. Now if someone wants to come here and go through the process of naturalization, it’s not easy, but as hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants can testify, it is worth it for
an immigrant to meet certain requirements, including residency, language proficiency, and knowledge of U.S. history and government.
The steps to naturalization include:
1. Determine eligibility
2. Complete Form N-400
3. Attend a biometrics appointment
4. Complete an interview
5. Receive a decision
6. Attend an oath ceremony
Requirements for naturalization:
• Be a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for a certain number of years
• Be in continuous residence during that time
• Be of good moral character
• Be proficient in English
• Have knowledge of U.S. civics and history
• Be registered for military and civil service
• Pledge allegiance to the United States.
But now our newly elected president wants to sell our citizenship. For only $5 million an immigrant can purchase a “Gold Visa Card.” Sounds like a late-night infomercial for rebuilding credit. Sounds like a good idea at first but there’s already a process and no one should be able to jump the line. Are these men and women going to register for military and civil service?
Be of good moral character? President Trump says, "These are vetted people. These are going to be great global citizens who are going to bring entrepreneurial spirit, capacity and growth to America.
If one of them comes in, think of the jobs they are going to bring with them, the businesses they are going to bring with them, and they are going to pay American taxes as well, so this is huge money for America."
The idea sounds good on paper. But where is that $5 million per person going to go? To finance building a better border wall? Maybe for lawyers who can help immigrants become U.S. citizens in the proper manner? Or will it just go to a general fund to be spent by Congress for something wasteful? President Trump did say the money would pay down debt. I presume he means the national debt. If so, sell those Gold Cards for a whole lot more than $5 million. Better yet, start a bidding war with the price starting at $5 million. Make them a limited item.
But in the end, buying citizenship, I’m against it.
There’s a right way to do things and the system, though flawed, is already set up.
We just need to use it properly, the way it was intended.
