To
make my point on how the RAISE Act hurts every American, let me first tell you
a personal anecdote.
On a
warm summer morning in early June, 22 years ago, my parents and my father’s parents
packed their suitcases, kissed their family, friends, and neighbors goodbye,
and hopped aboard a plane leaving from Kiev, Ukraine, for a new life in the
United States. They wanted the chance to be judged for their character and
their skills, rather than for their religion. Most of all, they wanted the
opportunity to provide their child, me, with a better life. We were able to
immigrate to this nation due to a relative living in New York City, as refugees.
For over 2 decades, I have watched as my parents made a new, modestly
successful life for themselves.
When
my parents arrived to this country, they did not know a word of English, nor
had money. We relied on the generosity and kindness of the local Jewish
community, as well as the American and MA government, to survive. Meanwhile, both
my father and my mother began attending community college, to learn English and
to improve their skills for landing the right job. My mom, who was already a computer
programmer, found a job with State Street, where she is still employed to this
day. My dad, a nurse, began caring for those who most need support and care, our
elderly. Before my parents could become successful in their careers, they first
had to spend money to acquire the required skills and pass the necessary exams,
not to mention invest a significant amount of time, before investing even more
time in their jobs.
While
my parents worked their butts off to climb up the social ladder, my
grandparents took care of me. My father’s parents immigrated at the same time
as us, and my mother’s grandparents joined us a year later. While my parents
worked long hours, proving themselves as capable employees and overcoming
corporate abuses meted out to newly hired immigrants, with few cards to play,
it was my grandparents, who cared for me after school, and during summer and
other vacations. They helped me with homework, took me to clubs and for
playdates, and vacationed with me at the Cape. Along with my parents, my
grandparents taught me morals and respect for all people, regardless of
background or economic status, and to always help those in need, as they
themselves were helped. They educated me on history, on current events, and on
our fortune of living in the United States.
But
who cared for my grandparents? The United States, by allowing them to immigrate
here and setting them up with Medicare and Social Security payments. Massachusetts,
which provided subsidized housing, and helped fund a care center for the
elderly, free of charge. The city of Boston, which under the leadership of the
late Tom Menino, checked in on the elderly, including my grandparents, ensuring
adequate heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, with Mayor
Menino meeting with my grandparents personally to hear out their concerns.
In
return for helping my parents get the tools required to become successful, and
continuing to take care of my grandparents, the United States got a hardworking
family, who has achieved much of the American dream. My parents owe 2 houses
and a car. They travel, both domestically, and abroad. They donate money to
causes. They have paid hundreds of thousands in taxes over these past 20+
years. Spending money from their pockets is invested into local businesses,
supporting thousands of local and national businesses and millions of jobs.
Allowing
my grandparents to move to the United States, and being cared for by the
American government, has allowed me to become the man I am today. Rather than
becoming bankrupt on paying for 4 elderly peoples’ housing conditions and
medical needs, my parents instead invested in my education, purchasing first an
apartment, and then a condo, in a city with one of the best public educational
systems in Brookline. I was privileged go to a private math school, hire an
English tutor for the SATS, and attend chess, soccer, basketball, dance,
journalism, and numerous clubs. My parents were able to save up enough money
for me to attend Boston University, one of the best, but also most expensive,
universities in the nation. Investment in my education has allowed me to get an
awesome job, making almost 6 figures, but more importantly ,helping people and
businesses access the tools required to operate. Now, I, like my parents, pay
thousands in taxes, have a car, and donate money to causes.
This
personal tale is not to brag about my family’s successes. It is to illustrate
that under current American leadership, our story could have never happened. Not
if the RAISE Act, the latest vicious attack on immigrants by the heartless and
cruel penmanship of Senators Tom Cotton, of Oklahoma, and David Perdue, of
Georgia, and endorsed by the imposter masquerading as President of the United
States, becomes law.
The
RAISE Act would stop immigrants from sponsoring their “parents, adult children
or siblings” from immigrating, depriving these people of the opportunity to
spend time with their own families. It would eliminate the lottery system
necessary to produce a diverse population, instead preferring those with “language
skills, for holding advanced degrees” Unsurprisingly, the RAISE Act would halve
annual immigration, from 1 million, to 500,000.
This
act represents everything that the United States stands against. This is a
country where immigrants, from all over the world, come to seek a better life, without
forfeiting never seeing their parents and siblings, nor the opportunity for
children to bond with their cousins and grandparents. This nation is famous for
“pulling yourself up by the bootstraps through hard work, determination, and
risk-taking, possession of English and advanced degrees, or not. Every immigrant
dreams of building a better life for his or her kid, a wish that requires adequate
resources, investments, and help from extended family. The RAISE Act splits up
families, punishes children from knowing their own families and deprives
immigrants of time, money, and resources to properly invest in the well-being of
their offspring.
Under
the RAISE Act, my family would never be in the United States today. My relative
in New York would not be able to bring us along. Even if my parents and I
somehow made it here, without my grandparents in the United States, my parents
would have to sacrifice their own skills, education, and career growth, to care
for me properly. And if somehow, magically, my grandparents did make it to the
United States, without the availability of government-sponsored programs, my
parents would have been bankrupted by enormous housing and healthcare expenses,
as well as time to care for my elderly grandparents. I would have never received
the necessary education, and been deprived of the diverse the teachers, professors,
and friends who have been so instrumental in preparing me for success in my
career.
Now,
take me, and multiply me by the 500,000 new immigrants. That’s 500,000 people,
each year, who do not become successful like my parents and me. Billions in tax
revenue lost. Billions in spending taken away from businesses, removing the
demand for millions of jobs. Is this how we want to treat our newest
immigrants? Cut off the opportunity to invest in themselves, before they even
had a chance? Tear them away from their families? Deprive their offspring of the
education required in creating the next great innovation, of becoming the next Steve
Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, or Sergei Brynn?
The
United States of America has taken good care of my family, and in return, is awarded
with productive and patriotic citizens. Now, it is time for me to speak out, so
the next family of immigrants is not deprived of the very same opportunities I
enjoyed, and continue to take advantage of, today. I ask my fellow Americans to
write to their Congressmen to do the right thing and vote against the RAISE
Act. The United States of America is built on the backs of immigrants, and
family is the glue that keeps us competent, productive, and happy. Let’s all
tell our leadership, especially the hypocrite who owes his fortune from his
parents’ investments in him, lives with foreign wives, and spends plentiful
time with his own numerous children, HELL NO! Let’s’ all raise our voices to
put down the RAISE ACT, an attack on the potential and successes of immigrants,
and by extension, the future of very country, once and for all!
