Don’t, Until You Do!

DD is a former client who is now my intern. She was granted Withholding of Removal about a year ago. The Immigration Judge in her case denied asylum because DD had failed to file her application within one year of arriving in the U.S. For many reasons, Withholding is not as good as asylum–you never get a green card or become a U.S. citizen; you cannot travel outside the country; you need to renew your work permit every year; some aliens with Withholding are required to report again and again to DHS to be “monitored.” While my client was grateful that she was not deported, she was not (and is not) thrilled with the restrictions of Withholding of Removal. She wrote a poem about her impression of the asylum experience in the United States–

Don’t talk to me about immigration until you have walked a mile in my shoes on the long road in search of freedom in a foreign land, leaving everything behind to start from the beginning. 

Don’t declare to know what is best for immigrants (legal or illegal) until you have fought this web of a system.

Don’t tell me I stole your job, for you will never agree to clean toilets for $5.00 an hour in order to feed your family.  Besides, how can I steal the job you have hired me to do?  Are you not my employer, taking advantage of my desperate situation for your own gain?

Don’t tell me I am stealing your child’s right to good education; for knowledge can never be taken from an individual who has acquired it.

Don’t force me to learn English, because unlike you, English will be my 4th language. 

Don’t immigrant hate until you can prove your ancestors originated from this land like the Native Americans (Remember them?  The non-immigrants and the one true Americans).

If you ask me to go back to the land from whence I came, I will ask you to find your way first. 

If you tell me that this land is your land, I will ask you how did you acquire it… with blood or gold?

And finally, don’t tell me I broke the law, when instead it’s the law that has broken me.

Originally from Liberia, DD grew up on three continents in five different countries (Liberia, Egypt, Syria, Ghana, and the United States). She speaks English and is proficient in American Sign Language and French. In 2004, she obtained her BA Degree in Criminal Justice, French, and Psychology. She has worked in the field of mental health and career counseling since graduating from college.

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5 comments

  1. DD, good for you for pursuing your dreams and speaking out about your path! The one-year rule is bad policy because it creates costly inefficiencies in the immigration court system and with DHS that are not outweighed by any benefit. I am glad to see that you are benefiting America with your talents and creating opportunity for others anyway. I hope that we can welcome you and the many other asylum seekers who are affected by this rule as naturalized Americans someday. Best wishes to you.

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  2. What’s funny about these two, is that they are DUMB enough to post things, that are ultimately embarrassing for them both !

    They are so hypnotized by their “point of view”, they can’t understand why they sound like Whiners !

    NO REAL EMPLOYER would hire DD let alone JASON DZUBOW, for anything, after this published “poem” !

    Unless they both are looking for a Federal job in the Obama Regime !

    mark.wilson.631@mail.com

    Reply
    • Mark – You sound like someone who is open-minded, interested in the world, and accomplishing important things with your life. Or maybe you aren’t. But at least you can disparage those who are. I am sure it makes you feel better about yourself.

      Reply
  3. The “poem” is a lengthly missive of an Ingrate, who takes advantage of our Opportunity, and you cannot find a scintilla of Gratefulness, even inferred. If she was “grateful”, she would keep her mouth shut.

    She has her American Job, but like others that are never satiated of her kind, she just wants MORE.

    The only way a person with this attitude could get a job, would be to be the author’s “intern”…and what a “scam” that is !

    And How many of these Ingrates, does the author, have on it’s payroll…apparently one of the prerequisites is to be an “Ingrate” ?

    mark.wilson.631@mail.com

    Reply
  4. beautiful poem and eloquently expressed. Thanks DD, so glad America is your new home. Most of us are excited you are here adding your talents.

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