In The Land of The Free

Jacqueline Procter
Journal # 21
March 14, 2008
Sui Sin Far

Qoute:
“Well, we must get your boy for you,” he responded. “Of course”—turning to Hom Hing—“it will cost a little money. You can’t get fellows to hurry the Government for you without gold in your pocket.”

Summary:
Hom Hing and his wife are being solicited to come up with even more money in order to get their son back who is being detained by immigration because he was not born in the US.

Response:
The Hing’s are taken advantage of as their savings are depleted and then finally, the profiteer collects their jewelry. In this act, I see similarities between the pirates of the past and lawyers of today. The only difference is the manner in which it is executed – very politely the lawyer collects his booty. There is no violence, but a crime has been committed as the end result is the same – a robbery has taken place.

Any selfless parent would give their very life for their child, and this fact makes Hom Hing and his wife easy prey. Immigrants in general are easy prey when faced with this situation, especially when they do not speak English or have limited use of the English language, and don’t know the laws of the land. I wonder how effective immigration attorneys are in getting the Government to speed things along. It doesn’t seem possible that that would be a reality, unless, immigration agents are benefiting monetarily. In the story, the attorney had previously written ”letters” which had no effect on expediting the “process” and clues the reader in to questioning the integrity of the lawyer.

Is it even remotely possible that a letter written by an attorney would expedite the process? If so, how diligent are these attorneys in advocating for their clients? Do immigration attorneys really wield influence in these situations? Or, are they parasites, which feed on the emotions and bank accounts of immigrants, like which is portrayed in this story.