Calling the Trump administration’s plan to award green cards based on income “as heartless as it is dangerous,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) has left at least one Quincy resident scratching her head.
Mecki Kosin, a certified travel consultant, told the Quincy Reporter when she married a U.S. soldier serving in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1972, officials almost blocked her husband’s return until he satisfied a wage requirement.
“The consul wanted my husband to return to the U.S. and get a job where he was earning at least $5 an hour (minimum wage was $1.68),” she said in an emailed statement.
Apparently, the powers that be at that time wanted to ensure Kosin’s husband and his new bride would be self-supporting, productive members of society.
“The consul had very clearly told us that he would not give me the immigration visa if he knew that we would be a burden on the government and receive aid,” she recalled. “We were lucky that a friend offered him a job which would pay more than was requested, and I finally was able to come to the U.S. after three months of worrying what to do.”
The policy that drew backlash from Duckworth is the latest salvo in the left-wing fight for immigration reform. At a recent Democrat presidential debate, all candidates raised their hands when asked if they favored free health care for undocumented immigrants.
The apparent unfairness between immigration policy then versus now doesn’t sit well with Kosin, who also had to prove to the consul she was employable in America and could speak English.
“So my question is, if this was the practice in 1972, when did that change?” she said.
Kosin said she was already a travel consultant in Germany, and has remained in that field since immigrating to Quincy.
“I understand refugees needing aid, but that is a far different subject than people who want to immigrate in order to better their lives or, like in my case, to be with someone they love,” she added.
Alerts Sign-up