Unchain my hurt

LAST week, I discussed the Quebec Skilled Worker Program since the French-speaking province of Canada has joined the express entry-type selection system of the federal government, in a bid to get not just Francophones but Englishspeaking migrants as well.

I have to digress and apologize if my column today goes south of the Canadian border because of a chain of events that should haunt the president of the United States (POTUS) in the days ahead.

The issue is chain migration, a cornerstone of Trump’s campaign slogans and a topic that he emphasized during his state of the union speech last January:

- tects the nuclear family by ending chain migration. Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security, and for the future of America. In recent weeks, two terrorist attacks in New York were made possible by the visa lottery and chain migration. In the age of terrorism, these programs present risks we can just no longer afford. It is time to reform these outdated immigration rules, and finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century,” POTUS said.

Just what is Trump’s position and conviction on chain migration?

In an interview with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Trump reiterated his stance and revisited his beef with Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, charged with killing eight people on October 31, 2017, after ramming a truck down the bike path along the West Side Highway in New York City.

“We have the worst laws! How about chain migration? One person comes in and you end up with 32 people. The person that ran down 18 people on the West Side Highway… He has 22 members of his family in the United States because of chain migration. So, we have to change this stuff, Rush,” he said.

Legal migration as chain migration

Since POTUS is referring to legal migration where an immigrant or an immigrant- turned US citizen is allowed to sponsor qualified family members, let us check the facts.

The Immigration and National-

members that a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) could sponsor:

A US citizen may sponsor or petition a spouse, minor children, children of any age or marital status, brother, sister and parent – but not a grandparent as Trump erroneously stated.

A lawful permanent resident on the other hand, can only sponsor a spouse, minor child and an un

- ly, not a parent or a grandparent.

Turning to numbers as POTUS claimed, can an immigrant or citizen bring in 32 people? Yes, theoretically but over a period of 10 to 25 years.

US citizens sponsoring parents may have to wait for approximately a year since parents are “immediate relatives” under US law not subject to quota. The other family members are:

Over 21, unmarried sons and daughters of US citizens are in the F1, family preference category with an annual quota of 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference (F4, brothers and sisters of US citizens). The F4 category is limited to 65,000 a year.

Spouses and children of green card holders are allocated the most number – 114,200. This number is further subdivided to the F2A (spouses and children of lawful permanent residents - LPRs) and F2B – over 21 unmarried sons, daughters of LPRs.

Married children of US citizens comprise the F3 category with a yearly limit of 23,400.

While theoretically, visas not

trickles down or up, such rarely if ever happens. In fact, that is the reason why there is a long wait for certain family members to join the sponsor or the main link in the “migration chain.”

The waiting period is approximate only, based on the historical pace of visa movements. Other factors come into play which could hasten or delay visa processing dates. The most common factors are: age of both petitioner and ben- of the petitioner and whether the petitioner or sponsor is still alive.

The September 2018 Visa Bul-

shows the processing times of other countries which traditionally have more applicants than there are visas allotted: India, Mexico, and China mainland. It is clear that chain migration is something that should not be an immediate

threat to Trump and to his base.

But Trump believes or would like us to believe that he is not being respected and admired for what he thinks is a historic achievement for the son of a German immigrant. He laments the fact that other than 24 percent of Americans (his support base), he is being maligned, the target of ridicule by late night show hosts and the butt of jokes elsewhere.

Trump’s defense is aggression. Hence his name-calling: Crooked Hillary, Lyin’ Comey, Little Marco, low IQ Maxine Waters, dumbest

course, “fake news and fake media as enemy of the people.”

He cannot get over the fact the he lost the popular vote. The man who wants to be loved is anguished, bothered, bewildered and hurt.

More US citizens voted for Hillary Clinton. She got 65,853,516 votes to Trump’s 62,984,825 votes.

- ald got the electoral college votes, 306 to 232.

US President – legally. But from the day of his inauguration where he lied about the size of the crowd to the continuing Mueller investigation, many believe his legitimacy to be in question.

And Trump hurts.

To ease the pain, he goes on a “campaign-trail” rally, soaking the adulation of his base; throws red meat issues that won him the 2016 election – “build the wall,” “deport, ban immigrants” and “stop chain migration.”

Except that his in- laws, the parents of the First Lady Melania Trump were just sworn in last week as citizens. They were sponsored by Melania as parents of a US citizen, who fit in the category

migration. So did Trump, because his grandparents and parents were immigrants from Germany.

Talk about karma or in Trump’s case Karmageddon.