The Day the Illegal Immigrants Were Deported

This month is the anniversary of when I learned of my friend Gary's death (I say learned of because he passed in Aug. 2006 and it wasn't until a month later when I found out). He was my boss while living in Death Valley and every time I think of him, I remember the day the Feds came to get him. No, the Feds really weren't there to get him, they were there to deport the unknown illegal immigrants working at the resort.

See, we didn't know the 13 Mexican housekeepers or the handful of Mexican kitchen workers were illegal immigrants. They had purchased what looked like legal documentation, i.e. birth certificates and social security cards in Mexico's black market so they could come to the U.S. and live the American dream. (At least some internationals still want to come to the U.S.) The resort was audited months earlier and now were closing in.

The workers were trucked away in their new uniforms and sent to an immigration detention center in Southern California for deportation. Not sure if they were able to contact immigration lawyers like Root Law Group, or not, but a few days later, a couple of them returned to gather their belongings, one gal ended up marrying one of the American employees.

While this was going on, a Canadian employee was being threatened with deportation. Rather than hiring an immigration lawyer, she decided to marry some jerk. And, she's not the only green-card marriage I'm aware of.

I wonder if all these employees had contacted a law firm like my friends over at Root Law Group whether their immigration issues could have been resolved. A California-based firm, Root Law Group assists in all types of immigration issues and could probably put to rest some people's fears of being trucked off in the middle of the night.

While the issue of immigration still bubbles in my mind, I'm still thinking of my wonderful boss Gary. He'd be so proud how I keep my desk like his - organized clutter.

Comments

Anonymous said…
i miss my sweet baboo, too, jenn!
jhuber7672 said…
I've been wondering about you. Thanks for dropping by! Maybe next year I'll be able to come visit.