Undocumented in the city.

NYC, a melting pot of people. One of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. Unique.

As a well traveled individual I can say that very few places in the world can compare. If you go to Japan, most people are Japanese, China, most people are chinese, and even within the United States itself you won’t find many places like NYC. If you go out to say Oklahoma, most people are white.  But NYC gives you a little of everything!

Transportation makes it extremely easy to get from place to place, and you will find entire neighborhoods dedicated to particular race groups. I know of people that have never learned a word of English, and never ever left Chinatown.  They live there as if they were in Asia, and in NYC you can do that.  What about Soundview, referred to as “Little Puerto Rico” in the Bronx. Jackson Heights in Queens, dominated by Indians, and on and on the list could go.

Many neighborhoods are a mixture of people from everywhere. Even within a single block there are mini communities.  NYC is truly a diverse place. The question I have is involving people that are here undocumented. What is your take on this subject matter? There are as many opinions on this topic as there are people in the world.

Many feel that as Americans we are supporting the undocumented and paying for them to live free with our support programs.  Others complain that these folks are stealing our jobs.  I recently had a conversation with a very politically informed colleague who stated that in some states, a U.S citizen will pay more to attend a university if they live out of that state, whereas someone from the state would receive a “state” discount amounting to several thousands of dollars.  It’s called “in-state tuition discount”. He further stated that an undocumented person that lives in that particular state would get the local  discount and could attend the same university.  That means that someone that came into this country illegally would pay less to attend a university than a U.S citizen would.  Not one to take things at face value, I did some homework and read up on this topic all over the web. The numbers are amazing. For instance a local resident, documented or not, with the in-state tuition discount would pay $4000 to attend CU-Boulder.  An out of state applicant would pay over $20,000 for the same education at CU-Boulder.

Do you feel we need stronger border control? Should undocumented people be deported no questions asked? What about criminals that are here undocumented?  Recently a U.S border patrol agent was not charged with the murder of a 15 year old kid on the Mexican side of the border. Reason being a lack of evidence proving it was murder, in addition to the law stating that the use of deadly force is authorized if the coyote (person sneaking people across the border) or any of his party is throwing rocks or otherwise attacking you. What do you think about that?

I recently read a story about an undocumented woman who ran over a disabled U.S. citizen with her vehicle and killed him.  She was going to be deported and returned to her country a free woman based on immigration laws.  What would you have done in that case?

I heard another story where a woman was being beat and harassed by an ex boyfriend, she called the police and immigration on the perpetrator. He was deported, as the woman was here undocumented with her children, they were on their way to being deported as well.  Her daughter, a student raised in this country, educated here, being deported because the mother had to call the authorities in order to protect her family.  How do you feel about that?

In so far as the law is concerned, it’s a pretty clear situation right? If you are here and you are undocumented, you can get deported. But should there be exceptions to the rule? Are special circumstances to be considered? Share your views in the comments section.