Spring Break
Immigration laws force harsh decisions on families
Taylor Trudon
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Commentary
We have to make decisions every day, with some being more difficult than others. Whether it is choosing the classes that you will be taking next semester, or debating on Honey Nut Cheerios versus Lucky Charms for breakfast, these choices are typical daily occurrences that we tend to overlook. Besides, most of these decisions are reversible.
You can sign yourself up for a 3000-level physics class, find that you truthfully aren't missing out on anything and drop the course. When you head down to South for breakfast, not only can you have your Honey Nut Cheerios and eat it too, but heck, you can top off that bowl of oats by mixing some sugary rainbow and clover marshmallows in there as well.
But what if you were faced with a different kind of choice, one that was substantially more significant than your everyday breakfast consumption? Thirteen-year-old Noriko Calderon of Japan faced the heartbreaking decision of either leaving the country with her parents, who were being deported back to the Philippines, or staying behind.
In the early 1990s, Calderon's parents used fake passports to illegally immigrate to Japan from the Philippines, and eventually had their daughter, who was born and raised in Japan. In 2006, Calderon's mother was arrested by immigrant officials, and for the past three years, the Calderon family has been engaged in a legal battle to remain in Japan, justifying that Calderon's father had a stable job and that the only language Calderon spoke was Japanese. Ultimately, both Calderon's parents were forced to move back to their native homeland, with the Japanese government leaving Calderon's future in her own hands. Tearfully, Calderon decided to stay behind in Tokyo and live with an aunt.
Calderon's story has sparked activists to question whether Japan's strict immigration laws are a violation of human rights, specifically those of Calderon. This young girl must carry the burden of her decision, one which would be devastating to most adults, never mind children. Illegal immigration is a major problem, and while the Japanese government may be satisfied to punish Calderon's parents, in reality, the individual who is truly being punished is a young girl.
You can sign yourself up for a 3000-level physics class, find that you truthfully aren't missing out on anything and drop the course. When you head down to South for breakfast, not only can you have your Honey Nut Cheerios and eat it too, but heck, you can top off that bowl of oats by mixing some sugary rainbow and clover marshmallows in there as well.
But what if you were faced with a different kind of choice, one that was substantially more significant than your everyday breakfast consumption? Thirteen-year-old Noriko Calderon of Japan faced the heartbreaking decision of either leaving the country with her parents, who were being deported back to the Philippines, or staying behind.
In the early 1990s, Calderon's parents used fake passports to illegally immigrate to Japan from the Philippines, and eventually had their daughter, who was born and raised in Japan. In 2006, Calderon's mother was arrested by immigrant officials, and for the past three years, the Calderon family has been engaged in a legal battle to remain in Japan, justifying that Calderon's father had a stable job and that the only language Calderon spoke was Japanese. Ultimately, both Calderon's parents were forced to move back to their native homeland, with the Japanese government leaving Calderon's future in her own hands. Tearfully, Calderon decided to stay behind in Tokyo and live with an aunt.
Calderon's story has sparked activists to question whether Japan's strict immigration laws are a violation of human rights, specifically those of Calderon. This young girl must carry the burden of her decision, one which would be devastating to most adults, never mind children. Illegal immigration is a major problem, and while the Japanese government may be satisfied to punish Calderon's parents, in reality, the individual who is truly being punished is a young girl.
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