The story of immigration is complex. There are many reasons people come to this country. The bottom line is that people come to this country to make a better life for their loved ones. But what does that really mean?

One huge misconception is that undocumented workers come here to get everything for free. Some people mistakenly believe that undocumented immigrants receive health care, food, welfare, and free rent—and that just isn’t so. If anything, many undocumented workers have been and continue to be used, simply because of their desire to find work so they can support their families.

Sister Jane Hauptman worked for years in Chester County to help the undocumented traverse the difficult path to citizenship. She spent 22 years working at Mission for Santa Maria. “Unless the person is a permanent resident they cannot receive financial assistance from the Federal government, not housing or cash,” Hauptman explained. “Their children can get healthcare just as all children can through CHIP or the children can get milk through WIC, from birth to five years.” 

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to eligible children through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs. Children eligible for CHIP are in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to afford private coverage.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) has helped Pennsylvania families since 1974. WIC helps pregnant women, mothers and caregivers of infants and young children learn about good nutrition to keep themselves and their family members healthy. It provides nutrition services, breastfeeding support, health care and social service referrals and healthy foods to eligible participants.

According to the Pennsylvania State Department of Health, here are some facts about the WIC program:

• WIC decreases the incidence of iron deficiency anemia in children;
• WIC reduces fetal deaths and infant mortality;
• WIC reduces low birth weight rates and increases the duration of pregnancy;
• WIC improves the growth of nutritionally at-risk infants and children;
• WIC improves the dietary intake of pregnant and postpartum women and promotes proper weight gain in pregnant women;
• Pregnant women with prior WIC participation receive prenatal care earlier;
• Children enrolled in WIC are more likely to have a regular source of medical care and have more up-to-date immunizations;
• Children who receive WIC benefits demonstrate improved intellectual development;
• and WIC significantly improves children's eating behaviors and parental feeding practices.

Who is eligible for the WIC program? Women who are pregnant or who had a baby in the past six months or twelve months if breastfeeding, infants and children under age five, and fathers, grandparents and foster parents who are the legal guardian of a child under age five may apply for the WIC program.            

WIC applicants must reside in Pennsylvania, have a medical or nutritional risk, and have a gross household income that does not exceed 185 percent of the U.S. poverty income guidelines. 

According to the National Immigration Forum, most undocumented immigrants do not have any health coverage apart from emergency care provided under emergency Medicaid, as well as emergency room access under EMTALA. In certain states, some are eligible for some state-specific benefits. In addition, those with sufficient income levels can purchase private healthcare insurance, without the benefit of federal subsidies.

Undocumented immigrants compose the largest group of uninsured individuals in the country, with an estimated 45 percent to 71 percent of them lacking health coverage. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal health coverage or access to the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act. However, they are able to purchase private health coverage or, in some cases, access insurance through their employers. Undocumented immigrants can also access limited primary care and prescription drugs through 1,400 or so Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) around the country.

Aylinee Villagomez, the office manager for immigration attorney Nancy Ayllon-Ramirez, has her own opinion as to why immigrants come to the United States.

Villagomez, who was born in this country, said, “The government in countries where immigrants are coming from, have failed the people. Depending on where you are located, there is no employment. Some have more access to jobs, those that don’t, come here to work to support their families.”

She also explained that many immigrants are fleeing because of the corrupt power of drug cartels.

“Many countries are run by the drug cartels,” she said. “Immigrants are fleeing [their own country] because of that.” 

However, there is a price to pay for leaving their homeland.

“I am not accepted in my parents’ country or in this country. I don’t know where I belong,” Villagomez said.

Others go through very dangerous circumstances to come to this country.

“Many people don’t know they are being trafficked and pay a lot of money to come to the U.S. Often they are promised employment, citizenship, education and more to get them here,” she explained.

It is not unusual for immigrants to pay thousands of dollars for what they think will be a safer life, only to find, when they get here, they have nothing.

Many people living in municipalities right here in Chester County have been trafficked. They may live in the same neighborhood as you, and you will not know it. You may notice that your own neighbors are being picked up each day at the same time and being driven to work. You might notice the municipality you live in has new ordinances to prevent rental properties from housing a number of unrelated persons. These may be signs that the people in your neighborhood are being trafficked.

Codes enforcement officers and local police officers often stumble upon these people while doing their regular work. You may also see trafficked people working as restaurant workers, mowing lawns, working in spas, or construction, and more. It is not unusual to see trafficked workers in locations along Interstate 95 or Route 1. Sometimes you will hear of an accident involving a large van that is taking undocumented workers to canneries, food production facilities, or other work locations.

When those unsuspecting workers arrive in this country, they are hit with the realization that they are working for someone who will charge them housing, transportation, and require that they cash their check at a particular store where they will be required to buy groceries, and pay a fee for cashing their check. At the end of the week, there is very little money to send back to their families, and the promise of citizenship is a promise that is frequently broken.

Villagomez has seen this many times—too many times.

“Many people have no idea they are being trafficked. I really wish people coming here had a better understanding of this,” she said. “It takes a lot of time to get work visas and so many of these people are starving, or living dangerous lives in countries run by drug cartels. Their options are difficult.”

Villagomez, who is only 25, has seen the dark side of immigrant exploitation. 

“Every time I pick up a piece of fruit or a vegetable, I know who picked that and the price they paid,” she said.

Nancy Ayllon-Ramirez is an immigration lawyer, and she is trying to help the immigrant navigate through the challenges, but she confesses it is hard to watch the injustices they go through.

Ayllon-Ramirez has her own law practice, Ayllon-Ramirez Law Firm, in her hometown of Kennett Square.

 “I was about to open my new business. My husband and I had just bought a puppy, and I found out I was pregnant with our first child,” she said, “And I wondered what I’d taken on.”

Ayllon-Ramirez has lived in Kennett since she was six years old, when her family moved here from México. 

“My family’s story is a typical immigrant story,” she said. “My father first travelled to the U.S. to work in the mushroom industry when he was 18. He eventually got a green card, was able to bring his family here, and continued to work in the mushroom industry. Nancy started school at New Garden Elementary and graduated from Kennett High School in 2005. She was a speaker at graduation, where she was awarded the W. Earle Rupert Memorial Cup. But Nancy’s service to the Kennett community began long before she stood in her cap and gown to receive the school’s highest honor for scholarship, school spirit, and service.

Like many young immigrants, she was often asked to translate for family and friends. She eventually volunteered as a translator for parent-teacher conferences and was involved at the very beginning of Kennett Middle School’s celebrated After-the-Bell program. She received awards from the American Legion and the Chester County Commissioners, and by the time she entered Bloomsburg University on a four-year Board of Governors scholarship, she was already a long-time community leader. Today, she’s a proud member of Longwood Rotary and also serves on the KAPA and Kennett Education Foundation boards. “I wish I had time to do more,” she said.

What Ayllon-Ramirez does do is champion for immigrants which is not an easy job—especially in today’s climate.

“I think most people don’t realize that companies that care for immigrants make a lot of money,” she said. “The continued border problems provide big money to the people that feed, house and provide health care. Immigrants are not bad people. They are good people seeking a safe, healthy and economically secure life for their families.” 

She also said 2013 was the last time government came close to providing a bipartisan law on immigration.

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013  was a proposed immigration reform bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the U.S. Senate. The bill was co-sponsored by the other seven members of the "Gang of Eight,” a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators who wrote and negotiated the bill. 

If enacted, the bill would have made it possible for many undocumented immigrants to gain legal status and eventually citizenship. It would have increased border security by adding up to 40,000 border patrol agents. It also would have advanced talent-based immigration through a points-based immigration system. New visas were proposed in this legislation, including a visa for entrepreneurs and a visa for lower skilled workers. It also proposed new restrictions on H1B visa program to prevent its abuse and additional visas/green cards for students with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees from U.S. institutions. The bill also included a $1.5 billion youth jobs program and repealed the Diversity Visa Lottery in favor of prospective legal immigrants who are already in the United States.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that this bill would have reduced the U.S. fiscal deficit by $197 billion over 10 years and by $700 billion by 2033. The Social Security Administration said that it would help add $276 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, while costing only $33 billion.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the bill in April 2013. The bill was voted out of Committee on May 21, 2013, and was placed on the Senate calendar. On June 27, 2013, the Senate passed the bill by a 68-32 margin. The bill was not considered by the Republican-controlled United States House of Representatives and died in the 113th Congress.

Ayllon-Ramirez reiterated that undocumented workers are not entitled to public benefits. 

“There is no protection on a visa, you are not eligible for Medicaid or Section 8. Those individuals with food stamps at a store are there because they have children who were born in the U.S. and are a U.S. citizen,” she explained.

She continued, “I was born in America. My father came to the U.S. at 18. When he came here things were different. Things were faster and easier.  Republicans passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act.”

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA or the Simpson–Mazzoli Act) was passed by the 99th United States Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986. The Immigration Reform and Control Act altered U.S. immigration laws by making it illegal to knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and establishing financial and other penalties for companies that employed illegal immigrants. The act also legalized most illegal immigrants who had arrived in the country prior to January 1, 1984.

“My father was eventually able to bring us, and then we were able to get a green card. He became a citizen before I was 18. I already had my green card when he became citizen so I didn’t have to go through an interview,” she explained.

The process for citizenship is daunting. A person has to obtain a green card through a spouse or employer. They have to have to a green card between 3 years and 5 years to become a citizen. However, they cannot vote if they have a green card. If they do vote, and are not authorized, that prevents them from voting and from becoming a citizen.

The person will also have to fill out an application, be fingerprinted and have a background check. They are also required to take a civics test, are tested on the English language, and they must answer questions about their background, including if they have been arrested. They will study 100 questions, but may be asked only ten. They also have to write a phrase in English. It costs $760 for an application, and they will also have to pay for an attorney during the process.

There is also a requirement of having a sponsor when applying for a green card. Basically the green card holder is saying they will not be a public charge to the government or receive public benefits. The sponsor will guarantee pay back if benefits are received. If that sponsor does not have enough money to do that, they will have to get a co-sponsor.

 Having an attorney experienced in immigration law is definitely recommended.

According to the American Immigration Council, on June 18, President Joe Biden announced a new program that will allow certain spouses of United States citizens to apply for “parole-in-place" from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This program, which is not yet open for applications, will not only allow up to 550,000 people to receive temporary protections and work permits in the United States, but will generally allow them to apply for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status (also known as a green card) through their spouses without risking years of separation from their families.

Current U.S. law allows U.S. citizens to apply for their non-citizen spouses to obtain permanent residency, but the obstacles attached to this path have made it difficult and risky for many unauthorized immigrants to receive the legal status they are theoretically eligible for. The Biden administration’s new parole program solves the biggest of these problems. Even if the program itself is put on hold or reversed in the future, those who have been granted parole under it will still have unlocked a far easier path to become permanent residents of the United States.

According to Ayllon-Ramirez this new process will hopefully do away with the situation of having people go back to the country they immigrated from.

“This is a help to military members and spouses. There are a lot of dangers in going back: one is not being not allowed to come back. Worse, the person may experience violence, death, extortion, or kidnapping,” she said.

Ayllon-Ramirez is here to help those that wish to be citizens, those that are taken advantage of and the many immigrants who have been caught up in trafficking, or dangerous situations through no fault of their own.

“It is not uncommon for undocumented workers to cash a payroll check, only to find there are no funds to cover it, or to be charged exorbitant amounts for rent, check cashing fees, and more. Traffickers may withhold taxes and then keep that money. Basically, many have no one here to help them, and that is what I do. I care and I try my best to help the many undocumented workers who are lied to, mistreated, or harmed in other ways,” she said.

Ayllon-Ramirez and others working in the immigration system are providing much-needed assistance for those who have few options and no voice.