In 1990, Hilda Werner spent roughly $7,000 to be smuggled into California, where she and her two young boys ran across the U.S.-Mexico border in the rain.Earth to Hilda! You aren't a citizen of any kind! But don't let us keep ya.
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But now, 15 years later, she is giving up her American dream and returning to Mexico because, Werner says, she is tired of working hard and still being treated like a second-class citizen.
The last straw was Utah's new law that denies a driver license to undocumented immigrants and provides instead a driving privilege card.Has to be a typo - they must have meant anti-illegal immigration legislation. I'm sure The Salt Lake Tribune couldn't really have confused legal immigrants with illegal aliens.
Among Utah's community of undocumented residents, Werner's decision might be unusual. But it illustrates the angst and hard feelings caused by Utah's new law, part of a national trend of anti-immigrant legislation passed across the country in recent years, especially after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Utah law, prompted by Senate Bill 227, allows only people with a Social Security number to get a state identification card or driver license, leaving residents who have a U.S. visa - and roughly 60,000 undocumented residents - with only one alternative: If they want to drive legally in Utah, they need to get a driving card.Earth to Hilda! You're not paying attention!
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A driving card will look similar to a driver license, but instead of "Utah Driver License" in white lettering, it will say "Utah Driving Privilege Card" in red, said Jill Laws, the driver license division's records bureau chief. Driving cards also will say "Driving privilege only not valid ID for UT govt entity" in red lettering. Werner, 44, said she is hurt and frustrated that the state would take away her license even though she has been "a good person" and driver.
"I have so much dignity. I don't want to get a 'permission' to drive," she said shaking her head. "I feel like I am being put down."
Like many other undocumented residents, Werner said her license makes her feel "secure" and part of the community. Without it, she'll feel "useless." Werner is scared that people might discriminate against her if she uses a driving card as a form of identification to write a check. She said she feels like she doesn't belong here any longer.Any longer? Do you think she has ever seen a clue?
While an extreme example of the illegal angst story, it's still fairly typical, right? Wait, there's more:
Werner, who married a U.S. citizen four years ago, said she is giving up on trying to obtain legal status because of the long process and confusing paperwork as well as the new anti-immigrant laws popping up across the country.So she could be a citizen, but can't be bothered to fill out the "confusing paperwork". Makes you wonder how she did on the traditional American confusing paperwork that comes due every April 15. I've been working on mine and I get the feeling I paid for too many Hildas this year. I also wonder whose Social Security number she used for her various places of employment.
There are more anecdotes by following the link and I'm sad to say "anti-immigrant" is used incorrectly throughout, including by a BYU immigration-law professor who should know better. But it's not all bad - there's actually a quote from someone who noticed the basic problem with this whole deal:
Hatch, a 67-year-old retired teacher, said he can't believe the Legislature passed a law that recognizes undocumented residents and gives them the right to drive.I was wondering about that too.
