Debate in Long Island: Immigrant Nation?

Published October 15, 2008 @ 06:25PM PT

As the last presidential debate begins tonight in Hempstead, NY, I wonder whether either candidate will realize that just next door, in Garden City, dreams are fulfilled and shattered every single day.

I spent many early mornings inside the McDonald's next door to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Garden City Field Office, waiting for the building to open for 7:00 a.m. green card and citizenship interviews.

While there were some officers with whom it was a pleasure to work, who treated my clients with respect and kept an open mind as to an ultimate decision, who were well-acquainted with the laws and regulations that guided their determinations, unfortunately not all the officers were that way. Some possessed none of those attributes. Officer Baichu was one. Many futures have been destroyed in the cramped rooms at the Garden City office. Many families have been split up.

So the question remains: Will either candidate talk about immigration tonight? Or is there a gentlemen's agreement in place to completely avoid an uncomfortable issue out of fear of what the cable news networks and talk radio would say?

Update: 9:30 p.m. EST: McCain says Obama is running misleading ads about McCain's immigration policies. He mentioned it--but that is all! No response from Obama.

Second Update: Still no substantive discussion of immigration policy. There's little chance now of this being a featured topic of discussion in either campaign outside of the fierce debate that's going on between the two camps in Spanish-language ads.

Nevertheless, we know the contours of a potential Obama administration immigration policy because he responded to a detailed survey compiled by the editors of the Sanctuary, a pro-migrant community website (of which I am an associate editor under the name "yave begnet.") McCain's response? We're still waiting for that ...

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David is an attorney in Philadelphia, PA, where he helps immigrants to the U.S. navigate the complex immigration legal system. Views he expresses at change.org are his alone and don't represent the views or opinions of his employer, Nationalities Service Center. The information contained on this site is intended for educational and advocacy purposes only.