The Onerous Burden of Legal Entry To America by Robert Socha

I acknowledge that human beings are flooding across the southern border at an alarming rate, and this has been an ongoing scourge for decades. We ignore the enforcement of immigration law at our peril. The continual flouting of this law puts all other laws at risk of being useless. The rule of law collapses into chaos and anarchy, and decent people trying to follow the proper directions must navigate a seemingly impossible path through the Department of Homeland Security’s bevy of procedures and paperwork.

Consider the journey of my son-in-law, a Canadian-born college senior who is now applying for a visa to work in the United States while his wife completes her senior year. The immigration process, with its formidable hurdles, continues to impose heavy burdens on the legal process in paperwork, process, and finances, creating stark disparities. The paperwork threatens nullification or cancellation unless every aspect of their demands is perfectly complete. This process has been a source of immense frustration and personal sacrifice for him.

Meanwhile, unfettered hordes stream across the southern border, are shuttled to various cities at taxpayer expense, and receive food, subsidies, and accommodation. A simple search online will produce a plethora of benefits available to immigrants of any status.

The most insulting part of the process thus far, apart from having to pay over $1,000 to refuse subcutaneous injections, is that he must have a sponsor if he cannot prove income above a certain level. What recent college graduate who does not have the right to work outside of the college he attends would be able to demonstrate significant income? The sponsor must prove adequate means to provide for the applicant by submitting their income and, intrusively, a copy of their most recent tax returns! The burden of providing such intimate details of my income status is not only unfair but also a significant obstacle to the application process.

Thus far, I am unwilling to cooperate. I have not yet completed the sponsorship process because of the invasive intrusion on my privacy! On the one hand, I want to do everything within my power to help my son-in-law move forward in his new life, obtain the right to work and provide for his family. On the other hand, the unreasonable burden of proof, especially to a man willingly and lovingly married to a United States citizen, is a gross injustice when he is inclined to obey the law and follow the process.

I am conflicted and hope another doorway opens to enable his continual presence in these United States. Otherwise, I fear I must capitulate to the unreasonable demands of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If more reasonable people pushed against the goads, maybe immigration reform would roll through the halls of Congress to a tangible conclusion.