The joys of being the token Minority on this blog is that I get to write about all kinds of fun things like immigration (from a personal point of view )and what it's like to give an oath of Citizenship. jk is jealous but he's lucky, he will never know the fear of being asked to leave the county you love.
Background: I came to this country because my mom said so. My dad wasn't crazy enough to argue when my mom's survival instincts kick in. She went to the American Embassy everyday for months. Finally, we had to call in some big favors, a Don, a VP of the Philippines and others. My mom was on a mission. We're going to America! So we loaded up the plane and moved to Youngstown, Ohio. Mom is an RD with a masters (Iowa State). They gave her a job. We're here months before Marcos comes to power and the people live under a Dictator. The Don's kids are taken by Marcos and killed. Give me all the business, you get to die a poor man in San Fran. Imelda had the guts to show up at his funeral.
So here we are in America. Okay by me in America. The land of Big Dreams and the road's paved with opportunity. We didn't leave poverty to get here. We had maids and servants. We came here because this is the land of Opportunity and Dictators like Marcos can't come into power. (Some may think Bush is a Dictator, but when was the last time you worried that all your letters would be read and anything you say against Bush means someone gets to be prisoned or killed? When was the last time your brother was killed for speaking out against Bush. I met a cousin who was sent to America because he spoke out against Marcos. His life was saved because it's not good to kill a General's son.)
We had to report to the Immigration office. Not a bad idea when our goal is to be a citizen. We're here for five years. In that time, we learn to be Americans. We speak English, it's a national Language of the Philippines, right up there with Tagalog and Spanish. My parents didn't teach me how to speak Tagalog because it might make becoming an American harder. My older sister spoke Tagalog and four other dialects but my parents told her to speak English.
We have to prove ourselves worthy to be Americans. You see, being an American, to me, is the highest honor and the most precious gift, I had to earn it. We were tested. We had to know how our new country works. We had to know what the Constitution is in order to defend it. That is what they asked of us when we give your oath of Citizenship: to give up allegiance to my place of birth, to defend this country and it's Constitution, to bear arms on behave of this country when required by law.
I became a citizen when my parents did but it was so important that I give my oath of Citizenship. That is the day I celebrate my citizenship, the day I gave my oath. I was 9 years old and in the third grade. Every year I read my oath. My mom asked me to read it when I was a kid. Now I read it because I have to. I have to remember why it is that I gave my oath. I remember and I will never forget.
Amnesty. Illegal aliens. Don't give them Amnesty. Give them the right to work here and if they can prove themselves worthy, give them Citizenship. It's right and it's fair.
These are the requirements:
If you are interested in applying for U.S. citizenship, first make sure that:
you have lived in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for at least five years (with exceptions; for example, the time period changes to four years if you got your green card through an application for political asylum, and to three years if you got your green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen and are still married to and living with the citizen. There are other exceptions for refugees and U.S. military personnel)
you have been physically present in the United States for at least half of the last five years (or half of the last four or three years, if you qualify under one of the exceptions above)
you have lived in the district or state where you are filing your application for at least three months
you have not spent more than a year outside the United States
you have not made your primary home in another country
you are at least 18 years old
you have good moral character (in particular, this means that you have not been convicted of a crime, have not failed to pay taxes and have not failed to register for the draft)
you are able to speak, read and write in English
you are able to pass a test covering U.S. history and government, and
you are willing to swear that you believe in the principles of the U.S. Constitution and will be loyal to the United States.
For all it's problems America is a great place to live. Americans have a pretty good system of government.
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for a common defense, promote general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty, to ourselves and our Prosperity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
These are the words that I was asked to defend. I will never forget.