An Email From My Cus In Ca...
My cousin lives in CA and occasionally spouts off about something or another in an Email. He sent this today:
An American working in Mexico! From the other side of the fence.....
The following is from (Tom O'Malley) who was a Director with SW BELL in
Mexico City.
I spent five years working in Mexico. I worked under a tourist Visa for
three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that
you were working Illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks
waiting on the FM3 approval During that six months our Mexican and US
Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It
was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work. To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized
originals (not copies) of my:
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and I.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of re commendation from supervisors I had worked for at
least one year.
6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indication I had no
arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in
good standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated
why there was no Mexican Citizen with my skills and why my skills were
important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on Earth" letter. It was fun to write. All of the above were in English that had to be
translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.
Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours
accompanied by a Mexican Attorney touring Mexican Government office
locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times.
At each location and we remember at least four locations we instructed on
Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to
obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not protest any of the
Governments actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four
thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was
done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US
customs in Laredo Texas. This meant we has rented furniture in Mexico
while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the
company paid.
We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates
and under contract and compliance with Mexican law. We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the Licensing agency to come to our Headquarters location with their photography and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We
showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a
written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of
the road. Our only instruction was never give a policeman your license if
stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window
away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay
ransom to get it back. We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. I was about twenty legal size pages annually.
The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after
paying more fees. Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and
certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal
affairs (warrants, tickets or liens) before our household goods were released to customs. It was a real adventure and If any of our Senators or Congressman went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico. The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White house or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy.
The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during
most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men standing
shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These
protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park
across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a
protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.
Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being
hard on illegal immigrants.
Let's talk numbers.........
In a New York Times article today about immigration the Border Patrol stated that there were 1,189,067 apprehensions (arrests) in 2005. What needs to be said is that there may be repeat apprehensions included in this number.
The Border Patrol also said that for every apprehension 2 - 3 people make it through.
Since October in San Diego alone, 90,843 people have been apprehended.
Does that mean that 180,000 or 270,000 made it through? That isn't known.
No one denies anyone basic human rights - a place to live - a job to hold - food on the table.
But just looking at these numbers - how many jobs do we have - to provide these basic human rights? How many can we absorb?
Then it is necessary to discuss health care and education.
There is also the horrific number of 50% of children in Los Angeles County alone that drop out of high school - never get their diploma. Is this the future for our country?
Immigration and how to deal with it is a very difficult question, but it is one we have been giving bandaids to for a long time.
You Put Up A Fence To Keep Me Out...
"Long Haired Freaky People" need not apply...
And the sign said long haired freaky people need not apply
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do
So I took off my hat I said imagine that, huh, "me working for you"
WOW!!! I just made that up. Honestly!!! :D :D
"All the stuff they get free"...?
There are many statistics that suggest illegal aliens do in fact receive free medical care and social services at a staggering cost to the American economy. I could list many of them here, but I am afraid that it would sound quite slanderous and terribly unfair to the many wonderful, hardworking immigrants who "do" contribute positively to our society. BUT THOSE STATISTICAL FACTS ABOUT HEALTHCARE, WELFARE and LAW ENFORCEMENT are readily available if you choose to find them.
Yes, it's tough - this "immigration thing" and what to do about it, but let's not dance around the facts. It will not help anything and will only serve to prolong the fear, anxiety and discomfort that illegals experience.
