'I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG'
Florida Muslims sue feds over citizenship delays
Muslims are sworn in after legal action to speed process
Babita Persaud
Sentinel Staff Writer
May 23, 2008
For three years and three months, Ali Hussain has waited to become a U.S. citizen.
On Thursday, his wait was over -- but not before he sued the federal government.
In February, Hussain and 24 other Muslims joined a statewide lawsuit against Citizenship and Immigration Services and the FBI for what they called unusually lengthy delays in processing their citizenship applications. Some waited as long as five years.
"The lawsuit helped my application. I have been waiting so long," said Hussain, an Orlando machinist who hails from Iraq.
In a post-9-11 era of fingerprinting and thorough background checks, legal action is also becoming part of the naturalization process, some area attorneys say.
"These lawsuits bring attention to the government that [processing delays] is a big problem," said Shahzad Ahmed, an Orlando attorney who represents several Muslim clients.
Of the seven Central Florida plaintiffs in the statewide lawsuit, five have since become U.S. citizens.
Four plaintiffs were sworn in as citizens Thursday at the Orange County Convention Center, including Hussain and his brother, Aso Hussain, a graphic-art student at Valencia Community College.
"We are so happy for this day," said Aso Hussain, 25, waving his citizenship certificate and an American flag.
Full article here - BUT, somebody PLEASE explain to me WHY AMERICAN CITIZENS {whether by birth or opportunity} aren't gathering en masse to file class-action lawsuits against "OUR" government for allowing the continuous flow of people coming/staying here ILLEGALLY?????
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3 comments:
Because we have become the United States of Opportunity.You don't see US citizens running to other countries to become citizens, do you?
It royally pisses me off!
Screw 'em!
Because, for the most part, the majority of humans (including U.S. Citizens) default to a tribal/short term setting in their thinking and only vary from it with prodding.
I.e., "does this issue directly affect me or mine within the next *time period*", where the time period is typically under 60 days and "mine" is limited to property, loved ones, and friends - the tribe of today.
Civilization is a learned behavior, and long term policy is a product of civilization.
Nailed it gay_cynic. Illegal immigrants are not costing them in a way they can see.
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