“Everyone is an Immigrant”
These were the first words from immigration lawyer David Simmons speaker at the League of Women Voters of Park County. Shocking as it sounded, he then explained we are all immigrants unless and until we have documentation of our citizenship or legal status.
David Simmons defined many of the terms that we all hear and which we may or may not be able to define: naturalized citizen, alien, undocumented or documented alien, refugee, asylum-seeker (asylee), permanent resident, DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals) TPS (temporary protected status), EWI (entered without inspection).
An alien is any person who is not a citizen or a national of the United States. U.S. policy provides two distinct paths for the lawful/documented admission of “aliens”: permanent admission or temporary admission. Temporary admission refers to things like visas for work, school or tourism. A permanent resident is an immigrant allowed to reside indefinitely in our country; the majority of immigrants who obtain a “green card”—a visa which grants lawful permanent residency—do so through sponsorship by a family member or an employer who is already in the U.S. They can work in the U.S., can travel in and out of the country, and have most of the rights and responsibilities of a citizen; they cannot vote, hold certain high security jobs and are not eligible for certain public benefits. To become a naturalized citizen, permanent residency must be established.
The status as a refugee means having fear of harm from their government or group that the government cannot control. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees protects and supports refugees, including asylum seekers, at the request of a government or the United Nations and assists in resettlement. Asylum seekers coming to the U.S. must apply for asylum within a year of their arrival.
Mr. Simmons described the various ways that people from other countries come into the USA and what requirements they must meet and what benefits they may be entitled to receive depending on their “status”. He also spoke about the conditions for deportation within our immigration laws. Migrants without status or who have lost status by over-staying their visa are subject to deportation.
Temporary Protected Status is granted by the Executive Branch of our government and can be withdrawn by the Executive. Humanitarian parole, as given Ukrainian migrants has been eliminated.
Detention centers for immigrants in the U.S. are primarily owned and run by private, for profit, businesses. Mr. Simmons has experienced ICE acting professionally when he is representing detainees.
There are many complicated layers to our immigration system. Immigration reforms in our country have stagnated since 1996. It has become a political wedge issue since that time.
The League of Women Voters will have two more speakers in our series for 2026: the former director of the Peace Corps and a speaker on affordable housing in rural areas. Watch for more information!
- LWV Park County