Finding a New Home in the Land of the Free
Each day, many people around the world make a choice. Should they leave their country and their customs, and forget their laws? Sometimes the choice leaves loved ones behind. Familiar faces become faded memories.
But they do, all because they crave the American dream, the land of opportunity.
Immigrants are now the fastest-growing population in the United States, with a 45 percent increase from 1990 to 2000, according to the 2000 census.
Florida has the third-highest immigrant population in the United States. According to the 2000 census, more than two-fifths of the foreign-born immigrants became naturalized citizens between 1990 and 2000. The numbers are continuously increasing.
Tampa Bay Area is no exception.
According to Barbara Gonzalez, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, 6,500 immigrants were naturalized in the Tampa Bay area last year.
Minorities are becoming majorities in some cities and states. The faces of communities are changing.
Orestes Bernal is one of these new faces. He is Cuban, working at the Habana Café in Gulfport as a cook. He only speaks Spanish. His smile is slow, but his knife is quick as he slices the Cuban bread. In September, Bernal will be eligible to apply for citizenship. He, like many immigrants, has lived here and waited five years to see this day.
“It changes your life knowing that you are an American citizen; you really feel protected,” said Jo Gonzalez-Hastings, owner of the Habana Café. She is translating for Bernal, but speaks with firsthand expertise. Born in Cuba, she became a naturalized citizen almost 25 years ago.
Gulfport is a small community, but it is experiencing the same changes as most of country. The 2000 census shows that more than 17 percent of all households in the country speak a language other than English at home. Many immigrants form sub-communities, or social circles. Several Gulfport church representatives said they have seen the growing need for immigrant support groups, but a quick survey revealed no available facilities.
Pinellas County is aggressive in its action and offers many programs and support groups for immigrants to learn English and receive assistance in housing, job-hunting and applying for citizenship.
Suk Ratt, youth coordinator of Asian Family and Community Empowerment Center in St. Petersburg, came to Florida as an immigrant 25 years ago. His was the first Lao family in St. Petersburg. Support groups and committees were nearly non-existent when he arrived.
Ratt’s struggle has been long, but he hopes his children can be what they want to be. “I didn’t have that opportunity because I didn’t speak English. But they do, and they are citizens,” said Ratt.
For some it is a life-threatening journey, but the risk is worth it. They, like the Ratt family, trade everything they know for the hopes of what they may find in America.
“We left just like any thief or criminal, at night,” said Ratt, who escaped political persecution in Laos in 1978. “Mom woke me up early in the morning and said we had to go. Dad had the whole plan.”
“Some people didn’t get so lucky, they got shot,” said Ratt, explaining the escape route.
The struggles of being an immigrant aren’t over after stepping on American soil. That is where the second half of the battle of becoming a citizen begins.
The process requires the person to live as a resident for five years to become eligible. The applicant gets an appointment for an interview and test, which could be up to a year away. The test is two parts: a written American history and civics test, and a spoken test to check proficiency of the applicant’s English. If an applicant serves in U.S. military or marries a U.S. citizen, the waiting period is three years.
Some applicants wait close to two years after applying for citizenship to be sworn in as Americans, depending on the number of immigrants trying to become naturalized citizens.
According to the 2002 Statistical Yearbook of Immigration and Naturalization Services, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 made the process tighter. The greatest impact, however, was the enforcement work done by INS. There was a change in the types of cases it worked on. It now keeps a closer eye on non-immigrant entrances into the United States. People entering under these circumstances file a special registration for tracking purposes. INS also watches businesses and illegal employment, enforcing fines and even deporting if necessary.
But as the laws continue to change, the flow of immigrants is nonstop.
As fireworks light the sky and the streets erupt with waving American flags this week, many people will be celebrating the birth of their nation for the first time. Some may toast to their new citizenship, some may take part in the festivities, some may wonder what a pair of red, white and blue flip-flops has to do with being American. Still others will wait.
