My life is going to change

Editor’s Note: The following story, as related to Frank Gibson, is the start of a continuing series of stories related to the effects of the new federal immigration policy, as seen from the personal perspective of people who will be affected by those changes. Future stories will explore these effects not only among alien workers but also local residents, employers, etc. 

My life is going to change. Yes, I know-things change every day-but you like to think that you have some control over the decisions and that you can make most changes for the better. The ones that you don’t have control over are usually accidents and disasters. Well, the changes coming into my life are outside of my control and I’m afraid that they might be disastrous-at least to my life-long dreams and plans.

I’m 16 and now into my junior year at Marianas High School. I was born here. I grew up here. All of my friends are here and all that I have learned and experienced happened here. My family is here; my four younger sisters and a younger brother, also all born and raised here, and my mother and father. We picnic on the beach, we swim in the lagoon, we enjoy the company of friends from a variety of ethnicities and cultures. This is home. I am an American from Saipan. When people ask me my nationality, I say, “I’m an American.” When they ask me where I’m from, I say, “From here, Saipan.” My bloodline may be Filipino, as others here may be English, German, Chamorro or Spanish-and I am proud of it-but I am an American.

Of course, my mother and father weren’t born here. They are both from the Philippines, and that appears to be the problem. They have been here 20 years now and my father has been employed every day of it, working hard, paying his taxes, driving within the speed limit, doing all of the things that a good citizen does-without being a citizen of course. They have taught me and my siblings to be good citizens. Like me, they have enjoyed the beaches, the restaurants, the friendship of many people here, and the pleasure of a good community. Saipan is also their home.

No, I guess I can’t say that, can I? Saipan has been their residence for 20 years, as it clearly cannot be their home. My father’s employer wants him to stay and is going through the process. So maybe he will be continued, maybe not. His company values his presence and has done its part. It’s now up to the USCIS. If his petition is not approved, he will have no choice but to leave his “residence” and return to his “home.” If this happens, I will probably “go” with him-not “return to MY home,” though. Regardless of how proud I might be of my heritage, the three weeks out of my 16 years that I have visited there does not make it my home. My home is here, even though it seems as if we are not welcome to remain.

This is not being written for sympathy. I guess it’s written more out of anger that this is happening to me, my family and all of the other kids and families in similar situations, in compliance with the laws of the United States. The United States that I and my brother and sisters, and all of the other US-citizen-kids are citizens of, the United States that supposedly guarantees us the privileges and immunities of citizenship, protection from being deprived of our life, liberty, or property, and promises that we will not be denied the equal protection of the laws. I’m obviously not a lawyer and I’m sure one would tell me that none of this really applies to our situation. All that I can say is, if all of these privileges, rights and protections don’t apply, then something is wrong. They should.

Anger-yes, but I am also writing out of my disappointment. This is not a situation that could not have been anticipated. Both my birth-community and my government knew that my brother and sisters and I and all of the other U.S. citizen children with non-U.S. citizen parents were here. Why wasn’t it anticipated? This isn’t a case of someone flying in or crossing the border to have a U.S. citizen baby. Our parents were invited here, legally, to work for the benefit of the community, which they did, providing skills and services that the community needed and could not fill internally. They provided these services, not in temporary positions for short periods, but in permanent jobs, as the USCIS is now identifying the positions for CW-1 visas. If this had occurred in the mainland U.S., an avenue to citizenship would have been available. Why were our parents used, ignored, and now discarded?

And we were born here, U.S. citizens, growing up as American kids, going to American schools, speaking American English, dreaming the same dreams as other American kids and making the same plans as other American kids. Until now-now our lives are going to change and those dreams may die and those plans may never have a chance to come to life.

It appears that many of us will have two choices to make-or rather, our parents will-as we are still just children, U.S. citizen children.

One possibility is that we leave-leave our friends, our community, our home-and, in my case, go to live in a small town in Bulacan province, outside of Manila. I will restart my junior year in school, at an age when most Pilipino kids have already graduated. I will graduate in two years as an American kid with a non-U.S. high school diploma, hoping to somehow gain acceptance to a U.S. college with my non-U.S. diploma, with little hope for the scholarships that I could have received here. The consequences of this option will be similar for all of the other U.S. citizen kids.

The other choice is that my parents find a guardian for me here and I stay and complete high school here, hopefully gain acceptance to a college in the mainland or start with our college. The cost of this choice is that I spend those next two years without by brother, sisters, and parents. I love my family and would be miserable without them. Will my country look out for me in their place?

Why is my country doing this to us? Why wasn’t this anticipated? Again, this isn’t a sudden situation that just popped up out of nowhere. Something could have and should have been done earlier. Don’t misunderstand me. I recognize and appreciate Congressman Sablan’s ongoing efforts, but that overused phrase fits this perfectly-it’s too little too late. Why aren’t our community leaders concerned and fighting for our futures? Why aren’t our President and our country concerned? Concern is shown over whether a U.S. citizen terrorist has rights, but no one seems concerned over whether thousands of innocent U.S. citizen children have rights. No concern is shown that the United States will lose the potential of thousands of U.S. citizen children as they are forced to leave their country over the next few years.

But we do have rights, don’t we? Yes, we have the right to make a choice-our dreams or our family? Which should I choose? Which would you choose? Why are we being forced to make such a choice?

Yes-my life is going to change.