Coffee Farmer Deported

[+OverSword]

Quote

 

A big island coffee farmer who was able to rally the Kona community has lost his battle with immigration authorities.  The man has now said his final goodbyes to his family and had voluntarily deported himself back to Mexico.

Andres Magana Ortiz, who is 43-years-old, called Hawaii home for 30 years.  Hawaii’s Star Advertiser has said that Ortiz has come to symbolize some of the shortcomings of immigration law under presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. 

Ortiz is a coffee farmer, and really a hero to all of the morning challenged Americans out there.  But that didn’t stop the deportation back to his native land of Mexico. “We said our goodbyes at home,” said Magana Ortiz’s  20-year-old daughter Victoria Magana Ledesma. “My dad decided it was better for my brother and my sister to not go all the way to the airport,” she continued.  Magana Ortiz is a father of three and married (his wife and children are all US citizens), but because he was illegally living in Hawaii, he voluntarily paid for his own deportation, trying to make this situation easier on his American family.

 

Read the rest here

This hard working man is an American success story.  The problems are he is not an American and he's not here lawfully.  Should an exception be made in cases like this?  The guy is successful and has a family all of whom are US citizens.  Should an exception have been made?  I think so.

[+and-then]

This is ridiculous.  There are thousands of criminals in this country from Mexico and they choose THIS guy to send home?

[The Caspian Hare]

Quote

But, as a boy, Magana Ortiz crossed the border from Mexico in 1989 without begging permission and that’s criminal enough for some.

Grant an exception, there is a good argument in this case perhaps, but it is reasonable to expect people to obey the laws of immigration to the country you travel, unlike what the author believes. The gall of some people is really incredible. Every society has rights to set limit and procedures on who can enter. That is not forcing you to "beg" that is perfectly rational.

[Myles]

I would think an exception could be made in this case.  

Along with checking to make sure he has been paying the taxes he should be paying all these years.  

[Keel M.]

If you've been here that long, why can't you apply for citizenship? If his wife was born in the US, that's a means to become a naturalized citizen. If not that, other avenues. If he's a business owner, that would probably help, too, to show he's not going to be an additional burden to society and want to sit back and collect checks from the state. Why didn't he bother trying?

Edited July 10, 2017 by Nonentity

[+OverSword]

21 minutes ago, Nonentity said:

If you've been here that long, why can't you apply for citizenship? If his wife was born in the US, that's a means to become a naturalized citizen. If not that, other avenues. If he's a business owner, that would probably help, too, to show he's not going to be an additional burden to society and want to sit back and collect checks from the state. Why didn't he bother trying?

Good questions.  My guess is that he has been doing all of that, but that's just my guess.

[freetoroam]

I do not get this. Seems Trump is going to be blamed for this one, but, why was he never given citizenship before? 30 years, a family, paid his taxes, worked with other Americans and was never given the right to be legal? Trump has not failed this man, the whole system has for 30 years. 

Illegal is illegal, this does not point out a bad Trump, it points out a system which has failed over the years. How the heck can an illegal citizen live, work, raise a family and be allowed to stay for so long? something is definitely wrong.

Shame this man is being sent back, he seems like a very good guy, hopefully he can sort things out in the future to return and be with his family....this is so strange, for the family to split up. I am not sure how I take this, personally, it would not matter where I was born, I would be going with my parents. Unless there are wheels in motion for him to return to his family and business, but in the mean time he has to temporarily return to Mexico.

 

[Gromdor]

I am amazed that everyone seems to think that illegal immigrants are unmarried short term visitors.  The ones I have bumped into have been here for decades with American jobs and American kids.  The bulk of them are exactly like this guy.

This is what you voted for, don't be getting buyers remorse now.  What is the mantra that everyone has been repeating?  "Illegal is illegal!"

[freetoroam]

2 minutes ago, Gromdor said:

I am amazed that everyone seems to think that illegal immigrants are unmarried short term visitors. 

well thats a new one on me. Over here in the UK illegal immigrants, if not married when they arrive, they will be with in the year and short term visitors? I think you have got mixed up with illegal immigrants and tourist. 

[Gromdor]

20 minutes ago, freetoroam said:

well thats a new one on me. Over here in the UK illegal immigrants, if not married when they arrive, they will be with in the year and short term visitors? I think you have got mixed up with illegal immigrants and tourist. 

No, it just seems to boggle the minds of the average American that illegal immigrants here tend to have American family members. 

This whole thread is over outrage than an illegal immigrant is getting deported because he has a family and a business.

[freetoroam]

3 minutes ago, Gromdor said:

No, it just seems to boggle the minds of the average American that illegal immigrants here tend to have American family members. 

This whole thread is over outrage than an illegal immigrant is getting deported because he has a family and a business.

the guy seems a good guy, but illegal is illegal and I do not understand why he was allowed to stay illegally for so long, irrelevant if he had a family or not, Many come to England illegally and the first thing some of them do is have children hoping they will never be deported and will be given citizenship, unfortunately breeding tends to work in their favour over here. 

[Gromdor]

1 minute ago, freetoroam said:

the guy seems a good guy, but illegal is illegal and I do not understand why he was allowed to stay illegally for so long, irrelevant if he had a family or not, Many come to England illegally and the first thing some of them do is have children hoping they will never be deported and will be given citizenship, unfortunately breeding tends to work in their favour over here. 

Under the current system, being an illegal alien is a crime on the level of a parking ticket.  It costs a lot of money to deport someone who usually just comes right back.  So it just isn't worth it to enforce it in most cases.  Especially guys like this with family and businesses.

The political climate has changed and now it is being enforced more stringently.  I am just surprised that people are taking offense and the logical conclusion of said new political climate.

[Keel M.]

I agree that most illegals who are here have a family and a solid job, but if you have that, what is preventing you from putting the wheels in motion to become legal? Or are you just betting on the fact that no one will notice you?

[Gromdor]

1 minute ago, Nonentity said:

I agree that most illegals who are here have a family and a solid job, but if you have that, what is preventing you from putting the wheels in motion to become legal? Or are you just betting on the fact that no one will notice you?

It's a pain in the butt to legally immigrate here.  The options for an illegal immigrant are even worse and puts you on the "radar".

Our immigration system is our biggest problem honestly.

[Keel M.]

I know how difficult it is to immigrate here, which is why I don't understand why anything needs to be changed. People think it's simple to immigrate to the US, but they are confusing the legals with the illegals.

[Gromdor]

2 minutes ago, Nonentity said:

I know how difficult it is to immigrate here, which is why I don't understand why anything needs to be changed. People think it's simple to immigrate to the US, but they are confusing the legals with the illegals.

It is very easy to immigrate here,  hence the 11 million illegal immigrants we have.  The "illegal" part combined with the ease to get here and thrive is the problem with the system.  Take the guy we are talking out.  Family, business, the works.  

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

1 hour ago, Gromdor said:

Under the current system, being an illegal alien is a crime on the level of a parking ticket.  It costs a lot of money to deport someone who usually just comes right back.  So it just isn't worth it to enforce it in most cases.  Especially guys like this with family and businesses.

The political climate has changed and now it is being enforced more stringently.  I am just surprised that people are taking offense and the logical conclusion of said new political climate.

Which makes it sound like this bloke annoyed the wrong person in government.

[freetoroam]

1 hour ago, Gromdor said:

Under the current system, being an illegal alien is a crime on the level of a parking ticket.  It costs a lot of money to deport someone who usually just comes right back.  So it just isn't worth it to enforce it in most cases.  Especially guys like this with family and businesses.

The political climate has changed and now it is being enforced more stringently.  I am just surprised that people are taking offense and the logical conclusion of said new political climate.

How does an illegal immigrant get to start and run a legit business with an address based in America for so long?  The system has allowed him to build his home, family and business - while being an illegal immigrant,  he must have been paying taxes for years,  with his address based in Hawaii. Did no one ask throughout those years....how long is this illegal immigrant intending to stay? That is just crazy.

[Dark_Grey]

6 minutes ago, freetoroam said:

How does an illegal immigrant get to start and run a legit business with an address based in America for so long?  The system has allowed him to build his home, family and business - while being an illegal immigrant,  he must have been paying taxes for years,  with his address based in Hawaii. Did no one ask throughout those years....how long is this illegal immigrant intending to stay? That is just crazy.

All good questions.

4 hours ago, The Russian Hare said:

Grant an exception, there is a good argument in this case perhaps, but it is reasonable to expect people to obey the laws of immigration to the country you travel, unlike what the author believes. The gall of some people is really incredible. Every society has rights to set limit and procedures on who can enter. That is not forcing you to "beg" that is perfectly rational.

I think it's "reasonable" for laws to be obeyed, yes. The problem with exceptions here is there are going to be a  LOT of exceptions once the precedent is set. Once you've allowed a high number of exceptions, it kind of resets what "normal" is.

[Likely Guy]

Now we have it. "The law is the law, no exceptions!"

Because there is the common misconception that there is no such thing as vagaries related to law.

[Tatetopa]

5 hours ago, freetoroam said:

How does an illegal immigrant get to start and run a legit business with an address based in America for so long?  The system has allowed him to build his home, family and business - while being an illegal immigrant,  he must have been paying taxes for years,  with his address based in Hawaii. Did no one ask throughout those years....how long is this illegal immigrant intending to stay? That is just crazy.

I am an anglo born in the US.  I worked for a large corporation for over 25 years before I was required to show proof of citizenship for continued employment.  It is a recent requirement.  If you own your own business, there is nobody to pose the question of your citizenship.

[Farmer77]

12 hours ago, OverSword said:

Read the rest here

This hard working man is an American success story.  The problems are he is not an American and he's not here lawfully.  Should an exception be made in cases like this?  The guy is successful and has a family all of whom are US citizens.  Should an exception have been made?  I think so.

IMO yes an exception should be made. I know several other stories which are very similar, one I recently heard involved a business owner with a clean record whose two children are currently deployed with the US armed forces, one of whom is a colonel 

We should be focusing our finite resources on deporting those who pose safety threats through criminal activity 

[aztek]

30 years is plenty of time to get legal status one way or the other. he absolutely knew he was here illegally, and did nothing about it for 30 years.

it's neither trump's, nor system's fault, it is his fault and his only.

Edited July 11, 2017 by aztek

[skliss]

Plus,  all we hear are stories like this one....they never publish about the ones who cause problems here, how much money we spend/give. All these "good" guys being deported...their families can choose to move with them.

I saw a 20/20 years ago about several people who were going bankrupt fighting taxes being claimed as never paid against their social security numbers that were being used by illegals to work. You never hear about things like that though. It's pick and choose to suit the media's agenda.

[Unusual Tournament]

On 11 July 2017 at 2:55 AM, Myles said:

I would think an exception could be made in this case.  

Along with checking to make sure he has been paying the taxes he should be paying all these years.  

It sounds like he was a law abiding and tax paying decent citizen. One thing thou, can a illegal immigrant pay tax? Wouldn't his tax number light up his non citizen status?

Edited July 15, 2017 by Captain Risky