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'Find a Legal Way to Immigrate'

Posted by Amy Gottlieb July 20, 2007 4:40PM

Categories: Race & Immigration

It sounds like a challenge to undocumented immigrants: "Find a Legal Way to Immigrate."

The message is that people who don't have legal status in the US have chosen to ignore existing laws and that they should instead follow the rules. We are, of course, a nation of laws, aren't we?

But this use of the phrase actually refers to something else. It is a game, developed by an immigration lawyer in Iowa, that allows players to navigate the immigration system on a lifesize game board, trying to find a legal way to come to the US under our current immigration laws.

I love this idea. I often find myself explaining how difficult it is to immigrate to the US. Even as the US can be a welcoming country that allows in many more immigrants than some other countries, our policies have become so tight that it is virtually impossible for most people to "find a legal way to immigrate."

But the explanation is one that is hard for people to accept. After all, "our ancestors came here legally," is what I hear in response. If only we could find a way to show how much the system has changed, and how the options our ancestors had might not be available anymore.

Let's play this game and see the challenges. At the same time, though, let's remember that the people who play the "game" in real life are people who are coming here to rejoin families, to escape poverty or war, and who find themselves facing barriers that those of us with the privilege of legal status can only imagine.

COMMENTS (2)Post a comment
Posted by ThomasReid on 07/21/07 at 10:50AM

It may be difficult but more people have managed to "find a legal way to immigrate" to the US than any time in our nation's history.

As of 2003, the most recent numbers available from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 33.5 million foreign born living in the United States. Assuming the 2003 figure includes 12 million illegal aliens, that still leaves a record number of 21.5 million legal immigrants living in our country.

Here's the historical data from the Census Bureau showing the number of foreign born living in the United States from 1850 - 1990.

1850 - 2,244,602
1860 - 4,138,697
1870 - 5,567,229
1880 - 6,679,943
1890 - 9,249,547
1900 - 10,341,276
1910 - 13,515,886
1920 - 13,920,692
1930 - 14,204,149
1940 - 11,594,896
1950 - 10,347,395
1960 - 9,738,091
1970 - 9,619,302
1980 - 14,079,906
1990 - 19,767,316