Well, shoot us all in the foot, you don’t you?

[imood mood at time of entry: annoyed]

Apparently our great government has decided to hike the fees that people legally immigrating here have to pay. On the surface this might seem like a good idea, but it is nothing of the sort.

Clearly, it was hard enough for some folks to raise the previous legal amounts, which led to them illegally coming here. The killing part about it is that they had to pay money regardless, only the coyotes were getting it. With this new rate hike of about 66%, I am certain that we will see a HUGE spike in the already overwhelming numbers of illegal immigrants flooding into this country.

Walls aren’t stopping them. Rivers won’t do it. So what makes anyone think that a raised fee will do the job? This is a whole new level of insane, since the thinking also includes a line that states that service will improve. In the past, hikes did nothing but make things worse and those were just small jumps. This fact was stated by a long time employee! So with this larger one going into effect, I have to wonder exactly how this will “help” the process surrounding becoming a legal citizen.

Now, I am all for going the legal route for damned near everything, especially when a non-citizen heads to foreign country (myself included), but I’d be ready to revolt at the thought of having to pay over a grand for a flippin’ green card. I mean, I was ready to curse someone out when the price of passports went up, but I knew that if I wanted to travel abroad the legal way, I’d just have to dig down and find the extra cash.

Still, there is a big difference between less than $20 and several hundred. Somebody, or many, many somebodies, in our government deserves to be slapped for this. I guess that I’ll really need to get my Spanish down, because I am going to be surrounded by even more illegal friends from Central and South America.

Geesh. I might just need to get the fuck away from Texas. But odds are, it won’t matter, because all of these new people are going to have to go somewhere.

On that same token, I previously wouldn’t have felt any sympathy about day laborers not being paid, but hell, how are people supposed to try and become citizens if they aren’t making any money? Of course, they aren’t supposed to be making any money in this country to begin with and anyone who works under the table has to be careful about being paid, because sometimes you won’t be. It’s just the permeating feeling of hopelessness that even I am experiencing in an emphatic sense.

Life, in all its forms, can be utterly discouraging sometimes.

And that, folks, is the understatement of the century.

On a happier note, I did swing by my bank today. I upgraded my account to the one that’ll give me free traveler’s checks, money orders, and the like. I now also receive discounts on prescriptions, eyeglasses, and books. There are other things on the account list, but I don’t remember them all. I am also going through the process of getting a secure credit card. I had to apply for and be rejected for a real one first. But come this Friday (August 3, 2007), I will hopefully be well on my way to putting money down for a secure credit card.

I just need to look at the amount of money I will need to take out of my paycheck first. Still, when it’s all said and done, I am going to need $300. I know that I went into overtime this week, but not by much. And there are taxes, so you know that the government got more than their fair part of my paycheck. I’ll pray that I’ll still have enough left over for this, because I really want to start working on my credit. This is could be one of the most important steps that I take in my life, seeing as how I am helping my mom with hers by paying the bills on time every month.

I also remembered to get Joel his $5. I borrowed the money and didn’t remember to get it yesterday, because I didn’t past the bank. So, I got that out of the way and won’t have to worry about it anymore.

Anyway, wish me luck and I hope that you leave some for yourselves.

Danielle