| BEING LEGAL IS NO LONGER ENOUGH |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, January 28 2002 |
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| When Pilar arrived at the driver's license office in Miami, she thought it was her lucky day. There were no lines. As a matter of fact, the office was empty. She stepped up to the counter to renew her driver's license but was stopped cold when the clerk asked her if she was an American citizen. When Pilar said she was a legal resident with a green card, she was told to go to another office, in a different part of town. That was a reality check. Long lines, standing room only.
A Spaniard who has lived legally in the United States for the past 20 years, Pilar learned firsthand that life has changed dramatically for noncitizens in this country since Sept. 11. What once meant a simple appointment at the driver's license office now means submitting to a police background check. To add insult to injury, a co-worker suggested that Pilar deserves the inconvenience because she is not an American citizen.
Lack of citizenship could also cost thousands of legal immigrants their jobs as security screeners at airports across the country. Citizenship is one of the requirements for the job under the new Airport Security Act. Out of the 28,000 screeners nationwide, about 25 percent - some 7,000 people - are legal residents. In places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington and Miami, the majority of airport screeners are not citizens.
Ironically, you'll have to a be a citizen to run the airport metal detector, but you won't need citizenship papers to patrol the airport with a semiautomatic weapon as a member of the National Guard. You don't even need a high-school diploma for the job. Requiring citizenship will not make airport travel safer for a single passenger. It will only punish thousands of law-abiding airport employees who have committed no crime. If they are capable of doing their jobs, they should be kept on. Taking the oath of citizenship will not sharpen their skills or help them catch terrorists.
As in Pilar's case, some noncitizens who live here legally are being pressured to become citizens. "If you don't want to become a citizen, go back to your country," she was told. Becoming a citizen is a good thing. Among other benefits, you can vote, hold public office or be a federal employee. But citizenship is not for everyone, and it is not a requirement to live and work in this country. Pilar is proud of her Spanish citizenship and her European Union passport, and she does not want to lose those privileges. Jorge, who is Mexican, is hesitant to take the step from U.S. resident to citizen because of his political aspirations in his native country and the possibility of someday buying a media outlet there. Enrique left his beloved Argentina 30 years ago. His heart, loyalty and patriotism are with both his place of birth and the United States. And while he is grateful for the opportunities he's had here, he does not want to be pressured into becoming a citizen only for the benefits it provides.
Noncitizens who live in the United States have just as much right to retain their citizenship as American citizens who live abroad. Dan Kane, spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, tells me that citizenship is a hot commodity. Nearly 90,000 applications were received last November, twice as many as in November of 2000. He says the INS hopes to speed up the citizenship process. There are many good reasons to become a citizen, most importantly love for this country and what it stands for. But the 10 million people in the United States who are still legal residents (but not citizens) and choose to stay that way should not be punished for it. Holding down a job at the airport or getting a driver's license without a security check should not be reasons for taking the oath of citizenship. |
