Citizenship… It’s Not That Hard
Illegal Border Crossing
Illegal Border Crossing

With all this talk over so many years about what to do with the millions of “illegal aliens” (that’s what U.S. law really does call them, by the way) that are already here in America, have you ever stopped to wonder why so many people come into this country illegally in the first place?

Have you wondered why so many illegal aliens – mostly from Mexico and other places in Central and South America – didn’t just follow our established, LEGAL immigration and naturalization process to begin with?

Ever wonder why we have so many illegal aliens from Mexico, when so many Germans and Canadians and Japanese come in legally and obtain citizenship in just the space of a few years?

Ever think to yourself, “boy it must be really difficult to become a citizen… it must be really expensive or time-consuming or complicated… or something!”

Well, the truth is that it ISN’T at all expensive or time-consuming or complicated.

Let’s take a look at the simple process to become a U.S. citizen.

First, the cost.  As of 2017, it costs a maximum of $580 for a “green card” (a permanent residence visa, very simple to obtain at any border crossing for between $340 and $580, unless you can prove you’re are seeking asylum in which case your entry is free), $640 to file an application for naturalization (that’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, Form N-400), plus an $85 biometrics fee.  That’s a total of $1,305 at the most.

Now let’s look at the process.  To become an American citizen the official U.S. government website lists 10 steps, but I’ve sort of combined these and compressed them down to only five. If that stresses you out, or if you think I’m trying to pull a fast one on you just check them out at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service website:

1. Determine whether you are eligible. The rules are the same, by the way, for a German as they are for a Mexican…

      a. You must be at least 18; this keeps minors from running away from home in, say, Canada, and becoming U.S. citizens.

      b. You must have lived in America on that “green card” mentioned previously for at least five years but there are exceptions to lessen that to three or fewer years. Further you must have been “physically and continuously present” in America during that time.  Interestingly there is NO requirement to actually have had a JOB during that time, and in most states you are eligible for numerous welfare programs without being a citizen!

      c. You must read, write and speak very basic English and pass a brief oral test covering U.S. history and government, so maybe you should spend some of those three to five you have to be in America anyway learning English and studying our history and government. My dry-cleaning guy is Korean and is a U.S. citizen. He’s a great guy and has been my go-to guy for almost 10 years.  Obviously, he own’s his own business.  But if you ever spoke with him you would know that when I say, “basic English” I really mean… b-a-s-i-c.

      d. You must have no significant criminal record; hummm, this is where being in America illegally will be a problem for you! If you are an illegal alien and you are already in America you have technically already committed a crime and must answer for that, but during the entirety of the Obama administration you certainly did NOT have to worry about that.  So, if you waited until we elected a President that actually obeys the law then you screwed up!  You may have to go home and start over!  But if you really look I bet you can find some Liberal lawyer that can get you past even that hurdle.

      e. You must be willing to affirm loyalty to the United States and serve in our military if necessary.  I know, shocking, right?

2. Now file your USCIS Form N-400 and pay that last $725.

3. Get fingerprinted by the USCIS and pass a national agency background check… here’s where you DO have to worry if you’re a criminal.

4. Attend a citizenship interview; here’s where you’ll be tested on your knowledge of English and of U.S. civics, so most people will need to have attended classes to prepare for that – those classes are available just about EVERYWHERE for FREE.

5. Attend the oath ceremony… and, yeah, swear allegiance to the United States of America… again, shocking!

There are also annual limits to the number of immigrants that the U.S. will allow each year to consider.  Those typically change year-to-year so you may have to wait your turn, and just be in America on your “green card”.  But again, during the eight years of the Obama administration, you didn’t have to worry about that because he issued an executive order waiving those limits.

This simple process has been used for more than a hundred years.  However, if all of this seems overwhelming to any would-be immigrant keep in mind that there are thousands of small legal firms across America that offer assistance with becoming a citizen for about a hundred dollars, and many churches, community organizations, radical activist lawyers, etc. that offer assistance for free.

So, let’s recap…

First, you have to have a little money saved up ($1,305 to be exact), but you can easily first legally come to America and get your “green card” for $580 or less (assuming that you don’t already have a criminal record) and legally work a minimum wage job during the three to five years you have to be here anyway and earn the necessary funds… and you can be on several different forms of welfare at the same time!  By the way, while you’re here don’t do any crimes.

Second, you can’t be TOO awfully stupid or lazy, since you have to figure out the process and fill out a form.  America already has enough stupid, lazy people.  We don’t need more.  Failure to fill out the form and follow the process makes you an “illegal alien”.

Third… well there is no third thing.  That’s about it!  That’s all it takes to became a citizen of the greatest nation on earth.

So, please tell me again why we should allow millions of illegal aliens to simply side-step this simple, inexpensive and uncomplicated process which is regularly followed by tens of thousands of people from countries all over the planet?

Our immigration system does NOT need to be fixed!  As you can see it’s really pretty simple and straight forward.  People from all over the world – including Mexico – use this well-established process every day of the year.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service reports that we have sworn in 1,850 new citizens EVERY DAY between 2001 and 2014 – 9.5 million people… 675,000 each year.  The USCIS has yet not posted statistics for 2015 and 2016, but with Obama at the helm you can bet these numbers didn’t decrease!

President Trump has imposed a temporary cap of 50,000 new immigrants per year and is being crucified for that action.

No, it is not our immigration system that is in need of repair.  That process is simple, well established, and is used by tens of thousands of people every year.  It is our border security that needs to be fixed!  Our near total lack of meaningful border security is what has led us to this point where we must now decide what to do with millions of people who have entered America illegally, and by that illegal action have become criminals.

Please remember this then next time you’re watching the news and some bleeding-heart Liberal starts moaning about our broken immigration system and how callous Conservatives are.

So, my message to so-called “dreamers” – the sons and daughters of illegal immigrants living in America – is simply this… what the hell were you thinking?  You have had (at the very least) this past eight years under President Obama when you could have easily come forward, handed over a few hundred dollars, filled out the paperwork, demonstrated those skills in English and U.S. civics you picked up over the years attending American public schools, and you’d be a U.S. citizen by now!  What kept you from doing that?  Stupidity or arrogance?  Did you think that America would forever look the other way?  At this point you certainly deserve to walk the hard path to U.S. citizenship.

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