Immigration Policy Run Amok

by Tina Grazier

Big bureaucracies do not work. Big bureaucracies under a cloud of malfunction and contention fail to meet even the most basics of common sense decision making. A case in point is the man from Austrailia who came to America in the 1980’s, met and married an American, applied for citizenship, built a profitable business, and contributes both time and money in his community. By all accounts he has been a fine upstanding citizen. And yet, his application for citizenship has been denied and he is now threatened with deportation! So, what’s the problem? You won’t believe it:

The judge at Fuller’s immigration hearing in 1988 threw him a curveball. He asked the Australia native if he had ever been convicted of any crimes outside of the United States.

Fuller had a marijuana charge on his record in Australia from his teens.
Fuller told the judge the truth.

The judge denied his request for residency.

“The judge told me that if I would have lied they would have never known,” Fuller said.

Australian courts expunged his marijuana charge, Fuller said. But it still impedes his ability to become a U.S. citizen.

Since the judge’s rejection of his application, Fuller’s been working with lawmakers to find a pathway to citizenship.

Really? He’s been working on this since 1988. We can let law breaking, illegal, criminals out of our jails with the wave a budget sequestration hand but we can’t solve this good citizens citizenship red tape nightmare? Incredible!