Enemy at the gates
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Topic: Enemy at the gates
Posted By: Raff
Subject: Enemy at the gates
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 04:03
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I hardly ever start threads in this section, but this time I felt I had to share this rather disturbing news item with you, especially with those who know my current situation:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14visa.html?ex=1368590400&en=cb9359446a1500b2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14visa.html?ex=1368590400&en=cb9359446a1500b2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Needless to say, my intent is not to start a flame war between opposing points of view on the problem of immigration. It's just that, as a person who is patiently waiting to be granted a fiancée visa by the US government in order to be able to marry the man I love and share a life with him, I cannot help finding such events as the one described in the above article extremely worrying.
What I feel is that we foreigners - even well-educated people like me, fluent in English, with plenty of professional experience and some financial means as well - are considered 'guilty' by default, and have to be proven innocent. How are we bound to feel, when moving to a country that looks upon us with suspicion, and makes us and our other halves jump through hoops in order to be granted the basic human right of being with the person we love?
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Replies:
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 04:19
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I can understand your frustration. It's a sorry state of affairs. I hope it's resolved soon.
I dont think it's so much a case of being considered 'guilty' I've only been to the US a few times, and I love going there, but I get quite nervous going through immigration, especially at JFK, in case they decide to single me out and lock me in a room for hours with a light shining in my face, accusing me of spying for the Russians. I honestly think they target random people at immigration to make a point. The more white Europeans they target, the less it looks like they're picking on Muslims. |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 04:36
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I know it's ridiculous. You know it's ridiculous. We have as much common sense in this country now as Iran has nuclear bombs (which may vary from 0 - 100 depending on whether McCain has taking his anti-dumbass medication before ambling up to the microphone).  ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 07:20
That's an outrageous story, Raff, but mercifully rare; the worrying aspect in my eyes is his being inelligible for legal council or any 'rights' as technically he'd not crossed the border into the US (although, I believe this would be the case in the UK as well  )
One quote which made me grin, though, was: “Also, who on earth would ever seek asylum from Italy?” Now - there has to be a joke there somewhere...  ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 07:48
I'm surprised you're not arrested at all countries you go to Andy.
 Hope it all works out for you and Micky, Raff.
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Blacksword wrote:Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 09:03
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I don't think I'll be going anytime soon - my passport's filled with arabic stamps from about 6/7 visits to Tunisia... -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 13:54
^ Good one!
I also had some Arabic stamps from Tunisia in my old passport.
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Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 14:07
| That story was an absolute embarrassment, a disgusting affair to say the least. These detention facilities and denying people rights is abhorrent, an affront to civil society. The very, very worst that should be allowed to happen to a visitor is that they get put on the next plane back to their homeland. |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 14:10
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Not to be stereotypical (but really, we all know the following is true), but exactly how much caution do we need to devote to a white, European, woman, with a doctoral degree, hmm? Prime suspect for a terrorist methinks.
------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 14:34
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"There are more than 60 grounds for finding someone inadmissible,
including a hunch that the person plans to work or immigrate, or
evidence of an overstay, however brief, on an earlier visit." Next to DMV workers, border agents are the most power tripping people. |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 14:39
Because we know how'd it go over if they focused on "Middle Eastern"-looking people.  |
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 14:48
Or we can all be realists and stop acting like it's not Middle Easterners who are committing acts of terrorism. Point is: Most Middle-Easterners aren't terrorists nor do that have terrorist intentions. But much more attention needs to be paid to them than of white Europeans. This is not discrimination; this is common-f**king-sense. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 15:27
| You're preaching to the choir; I just point out the politically correct reality. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: May 22 2008 at 18:13
God she would look so hot in cammo..totting a Beret.. and a loaded AK-47 hahhahahha the whole point of this to me... is this country reacted in the way that would have been the wildest dreams of Bin Laden and all those wackos.. we became something less than what we were..and the bullsh*t we spout about Freedom and Democracy to the world... sound mighty hallow when you can be tapped without a court order.. speech against the administration and it's policies is deemed..unpatriotic. This guy had it bad... what about our citizens that are thrown in jail with no charges filed... their constitutional rights forfitted. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: TGM: Orb
Date Posted: May 23 2008 at 09:12
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If Italy did that to an American, would America be OK with that? I somehow doubt it. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: May 23 2008 at 09:29
"Luis Paoli, a lawyer hired by the Coopers, said there was no limit on
detention while waiting for an asylum interview. But even after
officials agreed the asylum issue had been a mistake, Mr. Salerno was
not released." Human Rights ... or really just Citizen Rights? ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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