Two more years went by and Silvester, now five, started going to school. He had a small birth certificate that his parents used for all personal dealings as necessary, including traveling back and forth the Mexican land. It was before 9/11, therefore, immigration rules were not as tough then as they are today and regulations were less restrictive. Silvester grew up playing with his peers, speaking English with his friends at school and in the neighborhood as well as speaking Spanish and English at home. He knew what he wanted to do after he left high school. He was accepted into South West Texas University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Spanish. After obtaining his college degree, Silvester moved to Alaska to accompany his parents and assist them with a successful local family business and to put his new professional skills to test. In 2001, he met and married his soul mate. After two years of marriage, his wife bore their first child and another one four years later - both boys, third generation immigrants. He continued his pursuit of academic and individual advancement and all the while remaining a good law abiding citizen, never encountering any problem with the law. It was then after his achievements became noticeable that the rules of the game changed on him. As a result of the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2003 and the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) was abolished as part of the reorganization. In its stead, the service was split into three branches; the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The last two are the watchdogs of who has their immigration papers in order.
USCIS and ICEs’ newly toughened policies to fight in-house terrorism have caused grief to all immigrants who want to enter or live in the U.S. due to the intense checks and verification of legitimacy before granting any kind of visa or permit. Oblivious to those changes, Silvester made plans to travel abroad and was now required to have a passport which he had never obtained before because it was not necessary for his trips to Mexico. So he applied for one. After waiting for countless months, he called the Department of State at the Seattle passport offices to inquire about the status of his application. He was shocked to hear that his case was under investigation. Apparently, there was a Mexican birth certificate for Silvester, and according to the U.S. government that proved that he was born in Mexico and not in the U.S. His shock turned to frustration after countless requests to be shown such a “document� were ignored by the U.S. government. Silvester alleges that he indeed is a citizen of the U.S. by birth, and provides as proof his Texas birth certificate and the bona fide testimony of his witnesses. He argues that his rights are being violated since he invoked the Freedom of Information Act to see such document and the U.S. government ignored his appeal to the law. He hired Alaska Immigration Justice Project to help with his case. He maintains his claim of veracity in the subject, and wants the matter resolved so he can go on with his life. His biggest concern is that he might potentially get wrongfully kicked out of the U.S. while the investigation is going on and thus splitting up his family. All of his family is here in the U.S., including his wife and children who are all U.S. citizens by birth. His removal from the U.S. would indeed deprive the community of a good, solid, community-involved citizen, and business professional. Silvester does not really think it will come to his removal from this country, but sometimes thoughts and concerns