"Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9 New King James Version)
Exactly one week ago today, I heard a true story on a radio broadcast that upset me to the core of my being. I have no words to express the sadness and bewilderment I felt after hearing of Raul Rodriguez's plight. His "revolting reality" (my words) has been going on for almost two years. I am very surprised I knew nothing of it until February 15, 2020.
I will write the details below, but for better or for worse, I felt I needed to begin with what could be called a "Disclaimer". Frankly, in this hostile and supercharged political environment, I'm writing this piece with fear and trembling. I have many friends on the political left- some of them way over on the left. And I have many friends on the political right- some of them way over on the right. Many of you know I'm a registered Republican and generally I tend to flow much more right than left; but I refuse to live my life in isolation from those with whom I disagree with most of the time. On the one hand, I voted for Donald Trump, and I expect to do so again in November. On the other hand, I sometimes disagree with President Trump, and I listen to a lot of broadcasts on Public Radio. Yes, most of what you'll hear on Public Radio has a definite liberal/progressive bias. However, there are some really good programs on Public Radio, especially the storytelling programs. And, some of you may know I've been a featured speaker on Public Radio's The Moth Radio Hour. I don't consider Mr. Raul Rodriguez's story and problem a conservative issue or a liberal/progressive issue or a pro-Trump issue or an anti-Trump issue. So, bluntly, I ask those of you who may become very upset at me for what I write here, please don't bother with hostile or condescending comments or emails because I won't pay any attention to them.
Public Radio's This American Life on the weekend of February 15-16 featured as its "Act 2" presentation the story of Raul Rodriguez which they entitled, "Nowhere Man".
Raul Rodriguez is of Mexican heritage. He lives in south Texas, not far from the border. He was raised by an Aunt in south Texas. His parents live in Mexico. As a child, he'd always hated living away from his parents, but it was explained to him that his mother had slipped into America to give birth to Raul so he could grow up as an American citizen and have a better life than she and her husband had. He's in his early fifties. He's a U.S. Navy veteran. Mr. Rodriguez worked for many years as an Officer with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. He had an exemplary record, both in the Navy and with Customs and Border Patrol. Rodriguez actually was sent to Washington, DC at one point to be specially honored for exemplary service. He was known as "strictly by the book" regarding those crossing the border and residing in the States illegally. He even turned in a friend at one point. I don't use profanity, so I won't write words most of his friends and coworkers would use to describe him, but he was very tough and didn't let anybody get away with anything.
One day in the Spring of 2018, a couple of V.I.P.s from Customs and Border Patrol showed up at the local office where he worked. He was asked to come in and meet with them. To his shock, he was asked to surrender his gun and badge and was walked out the door. He could not understand what he could possibly have done to cause this to happen! A couple of weeks later, he was called in to a special meeting with some men from the Customs and Border Patrol hierarchy. They produced a Mexican birth certificate and stated it was Raul's birth certificate! The date and year of birth was different from the date Raul had always known as his birthday. But the paper contained his name and his parents' names. Mr. Rodriguez had a proper U.S. birth certificate which said he was born in Brownsville, Texas. He'd had that birth certificate for probably forty years or more. There had to be some mistake. Arrangements were made for Raul's father to be brought in from Mexico to explain what was going on. Tearfully, his father said the Mexican birth certificate was valid. His Dad explained the whole story of Raul being born in America was false; that he and his wife had cooked the whole thing up to give Raul a better life. Raul Rodriguez was shocked, devastated, confused, and deeply hurt.
His wife Anita is an American citizen. Raul felt he could at least apply for a green card to become a legal alien. That process took over a year for him, and he was turned down. He has an attorney and his situation is going through the appeals process, but it's very possible this U.S. Navy veteran; this exemplary U.S. Border Patrol agent, will eventually be deported to Mexico. Of course, Mexican drug cartel folks would just love to have the opportunity to kill a former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer- so deporting him could actually be very dangerous and even fatal.
Raul Rodriguez is literally a man without a country.
I've asked myself why I identify so much with Raul Rodriguez. Why my heart aches for him? Ten years ago this month, I was informed by my superiors that the little struggling church I was pastoring was closing and that I needed to step out of the ministry because I was emotionally and spiritually unhealthy. (They weren't wrong. I was emotionally and spiritually unhealthy. The church had declined to the point that by early 2010 only about fifteen were showing up on Sunday mornings and some weeks it wasn't even that many.) I was pretty well-known and pretty well thought of by a lot of people in Framingham, Massachusetts where I pastored. I wrote guest columns for the local newspaper. Twenty years ago, I was prominently featured on the local Christian radio station. Suddenly, everything fell apart. It's all way too personal to write about. There are family members and friends who'd be upset if I wrote any more than that- so I won't. I haven't pastored since them. I've worked frustrating low paying jobs. In the early days of my own "revolting reality" I was suicidal and under a psychiatrist's care. Thank God, today I'm much happier and much healthier than I was in 2010. I teach an Adult class at Bread of Life Church where Mary Ann and I worship. I have a lot of good friends, and I feel in my own way, I contribute much to the cause of the Kingdom of God. But that pain and loss experience never really goes away. It's made me hyper-sensitive to a guy like Raul Rodriguez. Twenty years ago, his story might have made no impact on me at all. For the past week, I've thought about it constantly.
I don't know what can be done to help Raul Rodriguez. But I will say bluntly that what he's going through is not right and something's got to be done!
I'm asking you to post the link to this blog post on your own social media and perhaps to even email the link to some close friends. I believe that if a lot of us do that, eventually someone who can genuinely help Raul Rodriguez will step up and become involved.
To read about Raul Rodriguez's situation in The Atlantic Monthly magazine, go to the link below:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/a-former-border-agent-at-risk-of-deportation/606418
To hear the podcast on This American Life, go to the link below:
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/694/get-back-to-where-you-once-belonged/act-two-3
EMMYS 1970: My World...and Welcome To It
1 year ago
2 comments:
Hi Bob, I'm listening to the This American Life story at this moment on KQED radio and I googled Raul's name to find out more recent news about him. I didn't find any but I came across your blog. Thanks for your sympathy for his plight which I fully share.
It is interesting to note how a seasoned and hardened Immigration Officer, who dispensed the law strictly by the book; is now on the other side of the law and expects to be treated differently. He wishes to be treated unlike those whom he refused entry - with complete disregard for the consequences that befell them.
Now, he wishes to leverage his service to the United States as some kind of special instance, with an emotional appeal at the end of it. As an immigration officer what was his response to the emotional appeals to all whom he refused entry to ?
As an immigration officer, would he have applied the law differently to a veteran; at the port of entry ? Clearly the answer is NO, because he went strictly by the book, since the consequences facing those in line were immaterial to him.
So why then should Raul Rodriguez (the illegal immigrant) be treated any differently.
The answer is very simple. Raul Rodriguez is still a top notch Immigration Officer, by skill and experience.
His father told him no exceptions, even for family.
He was always strictly by the book - law interpreter.
Was not cognizant of the plight of those entering the US - it did not matter to him what consequences faced those denied entry.
There is no role of USCIS, US Government, emotions, service to the US or anything at all in this case. Raul needs to apply the law and the three rules he lived by - above to himself. As an illegal immigrant who knows the law very well - Raul Rodriguez NEEDS to self-deport himself to wherever.
Then he needs to wait out his 10 year entry ban, apply for a green card, wait his turn in the long line and then is welcome back into the US with open arms. There is no shortcut to getting a United States green card or obtain LPR. What may or may not happen to him is not the problem of the law - it is his own issue to deal with, in whichever way he sees fit.
I myself waited patiently in line for 16 years to get a Green Card (EB3-India). If I can do it - everyone can do it.
There is simply NO NEED to bend the rules for anyone at all - no matter what; not even for Raul Rodriguez, as the law is universal and applies to all. It does not matter what they are, who they are, who they think they are or whom they may or may not know.
Post a Comment