I Came Here for the Healthcare
Sample green card issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services circa 1989.
Neither the image or the name is that of Gravel Roads
The first green card issued to me, much to my dismay, wasn’t green or a card at all. It was a putrid shade of pink plastic. Well, perhaps not so much putrid as surprisingly ordinary as you can see from the sample card. Photo, thumb print and logo. Flip-side was equally un-inventive. Certainly nothing which inspired confidence in the security or screening or detection of anything. I’d gladly offer a true image of my card but with each subsequent renewal, all previously issued cards were to be returned or face penalty of something. A pink slip?
U.S. Immigration Office, Circa 1924.
U.S Alien Registration Act, 1940
For the first time in the nation’s history all non-U.S. citizens were required to register with the federal government at their local post offices. Then came the very first green card (this time really green) post World War II when the States resumed the registration of aliens at point of entry, assigning an admission status based on duration and type of residency requested. With the Internal Security Act of 1950, aliens had to prove legal admission to the U.S. or face deportation. In anticipation of the increasing demand for reciprocity between Canada and the United States for products and services (a personal opinion), the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, streamlined the verification process for employers by creating a new and improved card, making null and void all previous cards which may have been issued.
Trade reform, 1980’s
The Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the U.S. concluded negotiations on October 4, 1987 and was signed into effect on January 2, 1988, performed somewhere along the way (1985) to the tune of “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” One of the primary objectives of the agreement was to “eliminate barriers to trade in goods and services.” Note the reference to services. That signaled my entry State-side.
Classified as a professional service, I was sponsored by an international firm committed to my employment for the duration assigned on my pink card.
Source: The Associated Press, December 7, 2011.
Awkward
I underestimated the degree of resistance from the State-side locals. I was making a positive contribution to the economic development of two nations. What was their problem? I was being accused of replacing jobs for generations of children and grandchildren to come. Initially I rebuffed their gruff and petulant comments, as well, just somewhere between uninformed and ignorant. In time I found my best rebuttal was a simple remark which rendered even the most verbose and ardent of attackers, speechless.
I came here for the healthcare.
End of story.
