Immigration

A friend of mine told me that she was going to the United States to be a nanny. I decided to do the same and three months later I got a letter from a woman in New Jersey who offered me a job as a nanny. I went down to the embassy in London and applied, got my Green Card and came to the U.S. I had to get my Green Card renewed because a cat actually chewed it. So, I went to the immigration office and from the moment I got in the line I was treated rudely. I was really taken aback. I went in and I wait and wait and wait. That’s what happens, you go and wait. I was finally able to make my way to the counter and get it taken care of, but the whole time I was treated, I thought, very discourteously. People there who did not speak English and were not white were treated so badly. It made me ashamed that they were treated so badly. I mean, they would yell at them! It was a nasty experience. I’ve never forgotten that.

Throughout high school I worked at a fast food restaurant. A lot of the people who I worked with were Mexican. They were all really nice people and most of them spoke English and had been living here for about 10 years. One guy, who was about 30, had lived here close to 10 years and he was one of the smartest guys. We talked about classical music and he had better vocabulary than half the Americans I know. I asked him if he’d ever thought of becoming a teacher. He said to me “No papers.” That really hit home and made me think about how fortunate I am and how I am really glad I’m not in that position. A person does not get to fulfill what he is good at because he does not have papers. I know it’s a controversial issue, but I really feel like people who are here from Mexico and other places are hardworking, decent people and we should really be given a chance.