Apparently a birth certificate means more in terms of American citizenship as opposed to a love of freedom or American values and ideals.
Former ASU Undergraduate Student Government President Yaser Alamoodi, a native of Saudi Arabia, is currently being detained in Eloy, Ariz. where he awaits his hearing prior to his impending deportation.
With an approaching election on Nov. 7, and immigration as a hot-button topic, this flesh-and-blood case caused me to reflect on the issue.
The United States is built on immigration, and our system should not punish individuals for simply wanting the same liberties and standard of living that so many of us take for granted.
Alamoodi came to the United States several years ago on "parole," a term signifying the time he had to become an American citizen.
During that time, Alamoodi enrolled at ASU, and became very active in the community, having a controversial stint as a State Press columnist, and even going on to become Undergraduate Student Government president in fall 2005 (a position he later resigned from).
While at ASU, Alamoodi married Joy Hepp, which was a means toward his citizenship.
Recently, as what happens often, the marriage ended in divorce. This action led to the revocation of Alamoodi's petition for naturalization.
As a result, he was picked up on Sept. 5, and is now being held in a cell awaiting the next step, which is likely sending him on a one-way trip to another Arabian night.
Yaser could be charming, but he certainly had his faults. He had a very unique way of offending nearly everyone he met.
However, no one appreciated the rights to freedom of expression more than he - it was a right he used liberally.
Fortunately for Alamoodi, there are people out there trying to help him. For example, there is a group on Facebook.com devoted to raising money for an immigration attorney.
That would assist Alamoodi in his detainment hearing.
What is most regrettable about the situation is how immigrants are demonized.
If not us, then certainly our ancestors immigrated here in the past. No matter the descent, save for the American Indians, all American citizens descended from immigrants, or arguably, invaders.
So what happened in the past century that made immigration a dirty word?
This certainly is not to suggest that the U.S. should just open the floodgates and permit entrance to whomever.
Clearly the state would not want to admit criminals or individuals that our system cannot support. On the other hand, perhaps the system is too difficult for even those who come here legitimately (like Alamoodi) to be naturalized.
A greater irony lies in the fact that our current administration takes no issue with utilizing regime change for the sake of bringing "freedom" and "liberation" to other countries; Iraq being a nice example.
At the same time, our government has no qualms about sending someone like Alamoodi back to a country that, according to the Freedom House, has greater human-rights violations than Iraq; begrudging him the freedoms we enjoy.
Alamoodi, in spite of his flaws, studied and worked in the U.S., was an active member of the community and was a contributor to society.
He was not a terrorist.
He was not a "mooch."
He did not suckle on the teat of welfare.
He was, however, a champion of diversity (despite his occasional facetious comments to the contrary).
If America is the land of opportunity, then it is not fair to selfishly forbid others from having what we have, simply because many of us were lucky enough to be born here, or found some other legal loophole.
The United States is built on immigration, and our wonderful diversity is a direct result. The system today sometimes hinders immigration excessively.
Bearing all this in mind, Alamoodi may not be an American by birth, or even on paper, but he is very much an American in spirit.
Rick Beitman is a political science and French senior. He can be reached at: richard.beitman@asu.edu.
