Answer the question below

Focus on Skills 10.2

Attitudes Toward Immigration

Your next door neighbors are Tom and Phan. Over time you learn that they are in a long-term relationship. You also learn that Tom is a citizen of the United States. Phan, a citizen of Thailand, has lived in the United States since 1996, but is ineligible for permanent residency because he entered the United States with a non-immigrant tourist visa. Shortly after Phan’s arrival in the United States, a local university issued him an I-20, the document needed to change visa status. Phan filed through the mail for a change of status and was granted an F-1 student visa, enabling him to remain in the United States as long as he made progress toward a legitimate degree. Phan has accumulated three college degrees since he was granted his F-1 visa.

Tom and Phan have been domestic partners in California since 1999 and in 2008 they were legally married. All is not well, however. Phan is not allowed to work in the United States and he has not been able to visit his family in Thailand. You are shocked to learn that if Phan left the United States, he would probably not be allowed to reenter the country, his home for the past 17 years. Although Tom and Phan seldom complain, they do allow that they suffer from the uncertainty of their life in the United States and feel that Tom’s rights and responsibilities as a United States citizen are unconstitutionally denied. They also point out that they have been “cash hemorrhaging” due to legal expenses and Phan’s inability to engage in legal employment.

Yesterday, Tom and Phan told you that they have an interview with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) to petition for Phan’s permanent residency. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that marriages between same-sex partners are entitled to the same rights and responsibilities as those extended to heterosexual married couples. Tom and Phan are eager and excited that they may soon be able to eliminate the confusion and uncertainty in their lives and visit Phan’s family in Thailand without fear of being denied reentry into the United States. Phan tells you that he is very excited about the possibility of finding legal employment to help with their finances.

Earlier today, your brother Chad, who feels he has lost his job to what he calls “cheap immigrant labor,” stopped by and asked you to sign a petition to restrict U.S. immigration. Chad also declared that the recent Supreme Court ruling will allow “thousands of faggots” to come live in the United States, thus jeopardizing the sanctity of marriage, damaging U.S. morality, and making it even more difficult for him to find a job. This evening, Tom and Phan dropped by with some Kao Niew Ma Muang, a Thai dish you have learned to love.

1. Do you sign your brother’s petition? What do you say to your brother about the petition?
2. Do you say anything to Tom and Phan about your brother’s petition?
3. What do you say to them about their upcoming interview with the USCIS?