I Had an Anchor Baby

Jessica Ruiz-Jones

ENG 299

02/01/2014

In 2009, I found myself in a unique situation that made the current immigration laws very real in my life, and the flaws in the current system have had a significant negative impact on the welfare of me and my three young children. Before this time, I fell within the realm of the minority of citizens who really have no opinion on the subject. I was a young mother married to an abusive man, and I was at the point where I needed an outlet. That is when I met Alejandro Ruiz, a Guatemalan telemarketer sent to Joplin, MO to train new employees who were using the same computer system we were going to be utilizing on the job. We spent some time outside of work together, and I thought things were going well. I completely overlooked how quickly the relationship was escalating. He had told me he was unable to have children, so it is no wonder my surprise when I realized I was pregnant. Although I had the impression that I would finally have stability in my life, current immigration policies only brought added stress and turbulence. Reform is needed not only for immigrants, but for citizens like myself.

Although I was taken aback by the fact that we had started a family so quickly, he seemed very excited at the prospect, and this gave me comfort. However, I began to pick up on red flags throughout the course of our brief relationship. When he trained our team, there were times when he would not receive pay. I quickly realized the Guatemalan trainers were not legal to work in the United States, and they were unable to report the hit-and-miss paychecks as a result. He revealed the recruiting process to me. He was at work one day, and a manger asked everyone if they had a Visa. Those who did were offered the opportunity to go to the United States. To make matters worse, when he did get paid, more than half was remitted back to his family. I found it disheartening that this US currency was untaxed and then sent to help another economy.

This put undue strain on me early on. Soon afterward, the training session was over, and it was time for him to return to Guatemala. It was then that our journey got much more difficult. His Visa was valid for four months, and we had to act quickly in order to stay within legal bounds. Although I was apprehensive, we married after knowing each other for only six months. I believe that marriage should be a decision made when both parties are ready, but, for us, it was just part of a legal process for which I had a to-do list. I was not prepared to jump into a new commitment. In the end, we represented one of the 5,886 applications for citizenship through marriage during the year of 2010 (Center). Although I felt the marriage to be a legitimate one, I would soon realize how inconspicuously fraudulent the entire setup was.

In order to keep the man I thought I loved in the country, it was completely up to me to come up with the thousands of dollars necessary to file the paperwork. After all, he was not legal to work, despite the fact that he had the ability and desire to do so. The process was business-like. It felt as though I were simply paying for him to stay, and money could buy citizenship regardless of the morals and intentions of the potential permanent resident.

Michealene Cristini Risley reported in her article in the Huffington Post, “The modern interpretation of the 14th Amendment is subject to regular abuse, with non-residents exploiting its language to facilitate their own residency” (Huffington). This point was furthered in my life when we finally had our interview with USCIS. While they are supposed to ask questions such as your spouse's toothbrush color and the setup of your shared home to ensure you are in a real relationship, the representative asked us absolutely nothing of this nature (New). He simply asked questions regarding information already provided on our application, which we verified. My right to life, liberty and property was severed at that moment without cognizance. In just minutes, the officer pressed the official stamp onto my husband's new green card. While we shared a moment of bliss on the way home from Wichita that day, I had no idea of the true motive.

Two months later, our son was born, and I felt that we were finally a family and could get started on our lives. This was far from what transpired. First, my husband got a job, but he continued sending the majority of his money to Guatemala. This put more stress on me as I was forced to support him, my new son, and my three kids from a previous marriage on my meager pay. Shortly after, he announced he was going to visit his family. After all, his father was aging, and our son, Damian, was his only grandchild. He was scheduled to return in one month, but he did not come back. He had moved in with his aunt in Virginia, and the relationship was over. I now have a son I am forced to raise with the man who caused me so much strife in the name of a love that never existed.

My situation is only one of the hundreds of women who are scammed into entering fraudulent marriages. Unknowingly, I helped facilitate the legalization of an immigrant. This situation hurt me personally on both a mental and financial level, and immigration reform is crucial in helping immigrants with a true passion for a better life to offer their talents to help the United States establish new jobs and strengthen the economy without having to use hurtful scandalous ways to faciliate their needs.

While my husband did hurt me, he is now contributing to our society earning $40,000 per year in a business that has been growing steadily. Faced with the violent and poor living conditions in Guatemala, he was unable to prosper, and he took whatever means necessary to enter our country. After all, he was living in a country where more civilians are reported dead as the result of violent deaths every year than were killed on the battlelines of Iraq, where 97% of homicides remain “unresolved.” (Crime).

Although many on the opposing sides of immigration reform feel that it would cost American workers jobs, it must be considered that they are fulfilling the jobs that many unemployed American workers turn down. If they had the chance to become legal as my husband did, they would have more opportunities to establish new businesses, strengthen the economy and offer new jobs to the conglomeration of races that make up our population.

It is argued that immigration reform would make it easier for drug activity to occur between the Mexican-US border. In my own experience, I watched as my husband, just like thousands of others who manipulate their way into the country, is simply doing what is necessary to make a better life for him and his family and the ones who do play by the rules and are forced to bend them to achieve their goals. Drug traffickers will always use threats to coerce law-abiding citizens into becoming drug mules, and this is a completely separate issue. As the Iowa State Daily points out, “So no, immigration reform that includes something like amnesty will not solve the drug smuggling problem we have on our southern border. Then again, neither will any other proposed solution” (Iowa). Drugs destroy the minds, morals and souls of people without prejudice, and this argument does nothing to support the fact that our country was founded on immigration and we must consider the positive effects of such encouragement that equal opportunity has to offer in any day and age.

Today, I rarely get the chance to see my young son due to the distance between me and his father. I still carry the name of the man who used me to achieve a better way of life. I watch as he continues to send remittance to his family while I struggle to provide my own children with the things they need while being forced to utilize governmental assistance. Although my case is a unique one, there are many others out there. With the media constantly portraying the wonderful way of life we enjoy in America, we must understand that it is up to us to provide a more realistic way of integrating those who will inevitably cross the borders regardless of the consequences. In passing immigration reform, we will not only help boost our own economy but also prevent others from becoming victims like myself who are used to accommodate determined and skillful immigrants. Our country was founded by people just like our forefathers, focused on providing the best possible lives for themselves and their families. This is the American way, and it is not fair to take away from the dreams of those likeminded. We must accept, understand, and provide a more realistic way of integration.

Works Cited

Center for Immigration Studies. “A Relatively New Form of Marriage-Related Immigration

Fraud.” David North. 27 August 2013.

http://www.chinahighlights.com/greatwall/culture/

The Huffington Post. “Are 'Anchor Babies' Sinking the American Economy?” Michealene Cristini

Risley. 15 March 2012.

The New York Times “Do You Take This Immigrant?” Nina Bernstein. 11 July 2010. News and

Issues. “Eight Arguments Against Immigration Reform.”

Civil Liberties. tp://civilliberty.about.com/od/immigrantsrights/tp/Arguments-Against-

Immigration-form.htm Crime in Guatemala. “Wikipedia.” 1 October 2013

Balanced Politics. “Should America Maintain/Increase the Level of Legal Immigration?”

http://www.balancedpolitics.org/immigration.htm