Sherry shared some eye-opening information with us. First, the fact that a student with legal F-1 status must pay for his/her public school education was something that surprised me. Next, I learned that there are a variety of temporary visas that students might hold. Then, the fact that there was no penalty levied on companies for hiring undocumented workers prior to 1986 helped to explain to me how the undocumented worker situation grew to be so unwieldy. Moreover, the ways that an undocumented person may become undocumented--i.e., expiration of documents--was interesting to learn. Clearly, these documents are not discussed in the media, and, more importantly, they are not explained to the holders of these documents, and the result is a barrage of misconceptions about undocumented immigrants as well as immigrants who remain in the country illegally because the three and ten-year penalties make going through the legal process the "correct" way, too punitive. Moreover, the cost to apply for citizenship is likely beyond the reach of many immigrants. The current fee is $595 plus an additional $85 biometircs fee for any immigrant under the age of 75.
I was surprised at how "easy" it was for a person to become undocumented. The media is doing a disservice to the community when they do not even mention all of the documents and confusion that surround the issue. I also found Ms. Neal's remarks about "proving presence" interesting where a person must prove that they have been in the country for (or during) a specific amount of time when some have very little proof.
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