Thread: ‘We Want to Stay Here’

An 11-year-old U.S. citizen discusses her parents’ illegal immigration status and the fears of those who live on America’s fringes.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12164164/site/newsweek/

By Jamie Reno
Newsweek
Updated: 11:08 a.m. ET April 5, 2006

April 5, 2006 - Life can be hard for a kid in the inner city, where innocence can be taken away early and easily. But it’s especially tough when your mom and dad are undocumented immigrants. Itcel De Jesus, 11, is a perceptive, straight-talking San Diego middle-schooler who gets excellent grades and likes to tell you just how things should be in the world. She loves to play soccer and listen to hip-hop music, and holds her own in sports and just about everything else with her older brothers Daniel, 15, and Manuel Jr., 12. But at times she can also be quite shy, even fearful, especially of people she doesn’t know.

“I’m careful who I talk to because I’m always afraid my parents will be sent back to Mexico,” she says. “If they are, my brothers and I will go with them because we can't live without them. But it’s better here. It’s more organized here. The roads are paved, there aren’t as many rocks in the streets. When you fall down in Mexico, you cut yourself because of all the rocks. We want to stay here. I like my school.”

Twelve years ago the De Jesus family broke the law by illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on foot through the desert just east of San Diego. At the time, Itcel’s brother Daniel was 4, her brother Manual Jr. just 3 months. “I’m the only one in my family who was born in the United States. I’m the only one who’s ‘legal’,” she says matter-of-factly. “That isn’t fair. I mean, my mom and dad and my brothers have all been here even longer than me.”

Itcel’s situation is hardly rare. A recent Pew Hispanic Center Study found that 64 percent of the children of the estimated 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants are U.S. born—and therefore American citizens. But the family’s situation may be better than most of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 ‘illegals’ living in San Diego County. The De Jesus family lives in a small apartment a few miles east of the Downtown district of San Diego. It’s one of the newer, nicer buildings on the block; it’s gated and safe. Itcel’s father, Manuel Sr., works as a mechanic at a San Diego auto shop where all the employees are Mexican, and many are undocumented. He’s paid in cash, and has held the same job since he got here. Itcel’s mother, Monica, stays home and takes care of the kids, who are fluent in both English and Spanish and are excelling in school.

“We came across the border because I wanted a better job so I could take care of our kids and give them a good education,” says Manuel Sr., speaking in Spanish because his English is limited. “There were hardly any jobs [in Mexico], there were more jobs here. I mean, how can you expect to take care of your children when there are no jobs?”

Itcel says she and her brothers “worry a lot” about being deported. Last May, there was a family emergency back in Mexico and Itcel’s mother Monica had to return to Mexico. Monica did get back to the United States, but was forced to come back the same way she came the first time: walking across the desert. (An estimated 500,000 people cross the border illegally in this manner each year; a record 460 died trying to make the crossing in 2005.) “My mom was gone for a month. I was so worried. I cried for a long time,” says Itcel. “She just walked back across with a group of other people out in the desert, and she stuck with them and she made it all the way back.”

Itcel sees the news reports and TV commercials on which politicians talk about changing the immigration laws to make those like her parents subject to criminal prosecution. She and her teachers and friends talk about it at school. She knows that some people in this country want to make her parents go back. “My parents aren’t criminals. They’ve lived here a long time, they are Americans, too,” she says. “I have great parents, they are wonderful parents. They just want what’s best for their family. It's not fair that they can't even get a driver's license. My father has to drive very carefully."

A few years ago, Manuel Sr. was pulled over by San Diego police for having faulty headlights. The officer took his car away. Manuel went to court and eventually got it back. “I'm still a little bit afraid of getting deported, but I don’t think it will happen,” Manuel Sr. says. “There are too many Mexicans in the United States now, we’re a big part of this economy. I don’t think President Bush will do this to us, we are contributing too much to this country. They can't send us all back. I like it here, I like this country, but sometimes I get a little angry [at] the way they treat us. I would like to be a citizen. I would if I could."

As for all the immigration protests in recent days in California and across the nation, which have seen thousands of Latino kids ditching class and taking to the streets to protest the proposed legislation, Manuel Sr. says he’s actually against that. “It’s not fair to the other kids in the school,” he says. “These kids should not be allowed to just leave class like that. It just isn’t right. They need to stay in school.”

School is clearly very important to the De Jesus family, especially Itcel, who already seems to understand the importance of a good education. Sometimes while she sits in her classroom, Itcel says she dreams about what life will be like for her and her family in the future. In the dream, her parents and brothers are all U.S. citizens, she is all grown up—and teaching school. “I want to be a teacher more than anything,” she says. “I want to teach at an American school. I'd like to teach third grade.”

where is my violin!

Birthright citizenship is a new court interpretation not the constitution. According to the Constitution a person is a citizen if they were born to parents UNDER the jurisdiction of the United States not parents who are figuratively flipping the bird to the United States. If you are under he jurisdiction and in violation of immgration law you turn yourself in.

Maybe we can create a birthright home ownership law. So if a burgalar breaks into a person's house and gives birth once inside, they get to own a portion of what belongs to the real owner. If they give birth in one of the bedrooms, the owner has to give them that bedroom for life, and pay for their food, healthcare and of course education too. And any other babies that they give birth to while there, they get the same benefits as well. I mean it's only right, it's not like they are criminals or anything, they just want a better life for themselves and their families.

He’s paid in cash, and has held the same job since he got here.

It's not fair that they can't even get a driver's license. My father has to drive very carefully."

Why don't you break a few more laws Manuel. Just think of the great example you're setting for your children. But then you're such a wonderful parent.

What don't they understand about ILLEGAL. They all (including the anchor baby who should lose the citizenship she has) need to be sent home.

Any offical who looks at these kids as American Citizens are wrong. They are not American Citizens. They are Mexican Citizens who happened to move from their mother's womb to the outside world while illegally in United States. Many of these kids weren't even conceived in the United States.

Handing out citizenship like this and not enforcing immigration law makes citizenship worthless.

I think we should also send a bill to Mexico for the costs of educating these kids and providing them with social services that would be automatically deducted from any foreign aid/trade with Mexico.

Originally Posted by Richard

Birthright citizenship is a new court interpretation not the constitution.

No, it is not even a court interpretation. The Supreme Court case was for legal immigrants, not illegals ones. It was some bureacrat in the Executive branch around 1920 that decided to also give birthright citizenship to anchor babies, not the Supreme Court or Congress or the 14th Amendment. Of course back then it was a minor decision, since there were so few anchor babies.

If you look at the Code of Federal Regulations, it states that everyone born on US soil and is under US Jurisdiction is a citizen, except for foreign ambassadors. This means it would be easy to change, simply by also excluding illegal aliens. To make if more clear, it could be stated that illegal aliens are not under the "complete jurisdiction", as the 14th Amdendment framers intended.

These stories drive me bonkers!!! Why are we supposed to feel sorry for mixed-legal familes? The fact is that the family illegally crossed into America!!! End of story. If the family gets deported, so be it. It's called play by the rules or get burned. Learn to deal with it, people!! I would gladly donate some money to charity to return some of these illegals to their home country and help feed them, if that what it was about. But people in Mexico are not starving, they're just poor (most of them). They are jealous of American prosperity and want to live (superficially at least) like us while repopulating our country with their offspring. People are not entitled to shop at Gap or drive on nice roads or have nice homes or drive nice cars or eat out at restaurants, etc. American prosperity and values didn't happen overnight, but they sure look like they can be undermined in about that timeframe.

“There were hardly any jobs [in Mexico], there were more jobs here. I mean, how can you expect to take care of your children when there are no jobs?”

why can't they understand that the America people feel the same way. Because of 'undocumented' immigrants, citizens of OUR country are losing their jobs -- where are they suppose to go, what country do they need to seek asylum?

this problem was not created by the people of Mexico or the people of the United States -- this was the result of corrupt governments -- the U.S. and Mexico and corporate America.

what these people don't seem to understand is this: once they'e "legal" -- they will be replaced by another "illegal" --- this all defeats the purpose.

Mexico and the United States need to be ashamed of themselves -- GREED is what has caused this. Mexico is not a poor nation, they only have poor government officials. Mexico needs to put an end to drug cartels and guard the border to make Mexico a safe place where tourism could generate an income.

Mexico needs to create laws that include a minium wage.

Originally Posted by WavTek

He’s paid in cash, and has held the same job since he got here.

[quote:1wuf6ukd]It's not fair that they can't even get a driver's license. My father has to drive very carefully."

Why don't you break a few more laws Manuel. Just think of the great example you're setting for your children. But then you're such a wonderful parent.[/quote:1wuf6ukd]

I wonder if he has insurance?