A little over a year ago in Norway, a 25-year-old Russian-born woman under the name of Maria Amelie was deported from the country.
Years earlier, due to alleged death threats resulting from a business proposition, she and her parents had fled their Russian home and sought asylum in Norway after having lived in Ukraine, Moscow and Finland.
The family’s application for asylum was rejected, and after filing an unsuccessful appeal to the decision, she and her family went into hiding for many years.
During her time in Norway, she wrote a book — which became quite famous — about her life in Norway as an illegal immigrant. She also took enough university credits to earn a Master’s degree (Don’t ask me how this happened, because I don’t know) but was unable to sign for the degree due to her illegal status.
She, in essence, became a poster child. At a speech she was giving in Lillehammer one day, she was arrested.
The Norwegian courts and government authorities treated her as any other illegal immigrant and deported her.
This was a good decision. If they had made an exception to the rule because she was so well-known, they reasoned, such a decision would have opened the floodgates for immigrants to come to the country and live in Norway illegally.
It’s easy to see why that country would be an ideal home, though. Among other things, it’s beautiful, peaceful, culturally rich — a much greater improvement to many places around the globe, including (in my opinion) the U.S.
Comparatively, I think both the U.S. and Oregon are seen in a similar light by those looking for a better life than the country where they are from — crossing waters and crossing borders to begin anew, albeit illegally.
Yet, I think it is rather uncanny how illegal immigrants who do come here and complain about the working conditions they subject themselves to are also irate they are denied the same rights and privileges of U.S. and Oregon citizens — including, for example, in-state tuition.
Imagine yourself wanting to go to a better country from where you are now. You illegally arrive, are only able to work the worst kinds of jobs, are obviously denied rights and privileges the country’s citizens have — and you complain about it, claiming how unjust it is, and you demand a better life from the country you are an illegal immigrant in.
Really?
It’s preposterous that people do act like this, but they do. It makes zero sense. Deporting them — along with creating more disincentives for them not to come here — would be the best thing Oregon and the U.S. could do for at least three reasons.
First, outside of, say, asylum seekers and the like, parents are acting irresponsibly by coming here illegally and bringing their children, risking deportation and separating the family from one another.
Second, the business community that hires illegal immigrants certainly doesn’t care about their illegal status, as they are able to pay a pittance (if at all) of what they would have to pay citizens — the latter of which has rights to at least a minimum wage. They’re also able to treat these illegal immigrants in any way they wish since illegal immigrants do not have the same labor law protection citizens do.
Last, by crafting legislation supporting illegal immigration (e.g., in-state tuition for illegal immigrants), the state is itself acting as an irresponsible catalyst by further fostering the first two notes above.
One practical way of preventing this would be to not allow businesses access to labor by illegal immigrants; have the state create a stronger immigration policy discouraging illegals coming to this country and businesses from “hiring” them. And, as noted above, have deportation as a part of that policy, for obvious reasons.
At least Oregon has been working towards those ends. Two examples come to mind: requiring proof of citizenship to get a driver’s license and voting down in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
And the state should continue down this road of discouragement until the illegal immigration “loopholes” are plugged. It may not work 100 percent, but at least it will be a start. Word will get around: Illegal immigrants may move on to other states or countries, but that is a good thing.
Oregon should not be part of a community encouraging illegal immigration and the consequences that follow from it.