They Check In, But Don't Check Out

We recently gained some personal insight into illegal immigration. We met a Brazilian man who lives in the USA. His sister just came from Brazil. Her parents are still in Brazil. He wanted his sister to attend high school in a local town. We explained that her legal guardians - her parents - were in Brazil so that was where she had to be schooled. He mentioned that she was visiting - on tourist visa. We asked when it expired & he said January 07. We told him that attending public school on a tourist visa was a violation of Federal law. We also pointed out that it made no sense her being schooled since she would have to return to Brazil in January 07.

This is the part that annoyed us. He answered by casually saying that she won't be going back. We pointed out that she would then be in violation of her tourist visa & she would become an illegal alien. He then repeated that she's not going back, that "no one goes back"!

This story is an example of the arrogant disdain that foreigners have for our immigration & visa laws. It is estimated that up to 40% of illegal aliens in this country are visa overstays. They check in, but they don't check out. They had no intention of checking out when they got their visas. For those who don't live on the other side of our southern border where the dream of being an illegal is only a walk away, a visa gets them into our country legally - then they just stay, forever.

It is all too common. It is pathetic. The only redeeming thing that came out our talk with this brother/sister team was that we had the supreme satisfaction of denying the wannabe illegal girl entry into an American school system that would have funded her education courtesy of US taxpayers.