i.c.e., i.c.e. baby since 9/11 immigrants have been deported at an alarming rate due to aggressive anti-immigration laws words vladimir noskovOriginally printed on hard copy in WHATS UP MAGAZINE in St. Louis, Missouri as an address to The President of the United States George W Bush. Re-posted on http://www.barackobama.com/ (All Rights Reserved) |
There are immigrants being deported at an alarming rate due to a bad legislation, terror fever, and the inhumane misuse of the Immigration Law passed in 1996 by the majority Republican Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. Almost every day I see news reports about raids on illegal immigrants. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 created a cottage industry and together with the “Patriot Act” subjects immigrants to inhumane treatment and abuse because President George W. Bush wants to give American citizens a false sense of security. Most of the people who are being deported are not criminals. I myself went through the deportation proceedings and did not meet a single terrorist. What our government is doing is hogwash. Deporting immigrants does not work, Mr. President. Deporting immigrants is as hollow a solution as the war in Iraq. Neither one makes this country any safer. “Papa Bush” started the War there in 1991. “Baby Bush” is continuing the bloody conflict 16 years later. Our men and women in the military are dying everyday. Here in the States, Americans are running around like the crazed pilgrims did in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. When they are not talking about “American Idol” or Anna Nicole Smith, they are imagining that the terrorists are hiding under every bush (pun intended). Just remember that thing about the “huddled masses” and think, “Who are the real Americans?” Are “real” Americans the Native Americans who came here 100,000 years ago? Are they the Europeans that came here a few hundred years ago, or are “real” Americans the descendants of African slaves? Maybe the Asian indentured workers? All these groups contributed to building this nation. Besides, we the immigrants take jobs that you Americans would not even apply for. If you are reading this - you are not confined to a Federal detention facility to be deported. In Missouri you are not allowed newspapers or magazines if you are in a county jail. Missouri does not have an Immigration Detention Facility. The Homeland Security Department contracted three county jails to warehouse deportees and this contributes to a small cottage industry comprised of three county jails in bad need of “them there Federal Greenbacks.” The best one is the Mississippi County jail in Charleston; the close second (they actually let you smoke cigarettes!) is Montgomery County jail in Montgomery City, and the worst one is Lincoln County in Troy. I was a prisoner in two of these three jails in Missouri that the government uses to detain “criminal aliens.” My personal nightmare in jail occurred in July and August of 2005. If you are not a U.S. citizen, and you have committed a felony during your life in America, under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 the Feds can throw you in jail and deport you after the paperwork is complete. When I was picked up by the I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), I thought it was a huge mistake. It had to be. I have lived in the U.S. for 30 years. I came here with my mother and my sister on July 7th, 1976. Just three days after the country celebrated it's 200th birthday. I was 14-years-old. Jimmy Carter was running for the Presidency against a never elected Gerald Ford. I plunged into the American culture immediately. I fell in love with my new home. Five years later my mom and sister became naturalized citizens, while I decided to remain a legal resident without the citizenship. It seemed romantic to me to be a “man without a country.” After growing up in the Soviet Union I felt a bit allergic to patriotism of any kind. After all, I was now living in a country that allowed this kind of individual freedom. I was also a stupid teenager. Without going into the boring details, I will admit to being caught by an undercover cop with a small amount of marijuana. I had no money for an attorney. A public defender helped me plead to a “possession of marijuana with intent to sell” and I paid a small fine. I also served one-year of probation. I forgot the whole stupid thing. It was just some harmless weed. But it was a felony conviction. It was 1983! I was 21! Many years later the immigration law of 1996 made me a “criminal alien” retroactively. America had to be saved. After ten days in a relatively tolerable environment of the Mississippi County jail, I was taken to the Federal Building in downtown St. Louis for a bond hearing. We were transported in leg irons, chain belts, and handcuffs that were all connected. It did not make for a very comfortable three-hour ride. I remember a Pakistani guy who was really calm the first few days having a nervous breakdown on one of those rides. While I was not exactly feeling cheery myself, this guy kept screaming that we are all doomed and America does not care about people who actually love it here. Things did not go my way, and the bond was denied. I had no immigration attorney at the time. I asked one of the ICE agents for a form to appeal the judge’s decision. When they refused and ignored me, I lost it. I called all of them “Nazis” and told the supervisor Fed that if he grew a little mustache he would have no problem passing for Hitler. They all gave me dirty looks, but none of them touched me. When I arrived back at the county jail in the Missouri boot hill, I was told to get undressed. The “hole” was a very cold little cell with plenty of air conditioning. I was going to “the hole.” Handcuffed and naked, I was thrown into a small concrete cell with a steel toilet/sink combo and a roll of toilet paper for 72 hours. I was told that the Feds told the jailers to have me on a three-day suicide watch. I never said I was going to kill myself. It was just a way for the Federal agents to punish me for calling them “Nazis.” I was loosing my mind. I thought it was bad in Mississippi county jail. The day after my release from the hole, I was transferred to Lincoln County jail in Troy, Missouri. That place is a real torture chamber. While being processed into their system I was given a tray of food. When I told the guards that I was a vegetarian, I got smacked on top of the head. I was then told that “special” meals were given only for medical and religious reasons. I told them that I am a Buddhist. The response was typically redneck: “Show me your Buddhist Bible.” At that moment I knew that I had better find a good immigration lawyer, or I would be dead. My sister mortgaged her family home, my mom charged her credit cards to the limit, and an immigration attorney was hired to represent me. The worst time was the visiting hour (once a week). I prayed that no one was coming to see me. I hated putting on my yellow jumpsuit and visiting through a thick glass window talking to each other on the phone. Visitors reminded me of the outside world, and after the visitor was gone I was just put back behind bars far away from real life. I have many stories to tell from my two months in jail. Stories that happened to me as well as to people I met. But you will have to wait for the book version. I was lucky to stay here in the U.S. simply because during my original sentencing my constitutional rights were violated. The original conviction was set aside and vacated. It was a fight that lasted for more than a year. I was lucky to have family and friends that helped to secure my freedom. I am also grateful to the local media that showed me support by telling my story. My attorneys Barbara Bleisch in St. Louis and Randy Knox in San Francisco are awesome. Most deportees are not that lucky. I think about the unlucky ones every day. This country was founded with the belief that one can always escape another country’s persecution and to come here to build a new life. Yet only when immigration laws recognize your country’s abuse. I happened to get away from the anti- Semitic U.S.S.R. There are some great folks here that come from countries the United States supports politically and those people cannot claim a refugee status. If you overstay your work or guest visa, you become a criminal and subject to deportation. Your tax dollars (and mine) are going to this kind of foolishness. I happen to think that laws designed to keep terrorism down should not penalize non-violent foreigners. If you kick all of us out, who’s gonna drive your cabs, pick your food, work in your kitchens or raise your kids? I think that new blood in this country is healthy. I strongly feel that the immigration laws have to be revised. What can you do? Oops, relax. Have a beer and go back to the “American Idol.” Or you can call and write to your Congressman or Senator demanding that this inhumane treatment of immigrants has to be stopped. The law has to be changed. ‘Nuff of the foolishness.
Vladimir "The Mad Russian" Noskov
Vladimir Noskov lives, works and plays in the Delmar Loop. Wherever the “Mad Russian” goes - he fights for truth, justice and the American way of life. As a persecuted Jew, he came to the U.S. with his mom and sister on July 7, 1976. His full-time job is looking after senior citizens in a multi-cultural high-rise in University City. “I happen to think that laws designed to keep terrorism down should not penalize non-violent foreigners. If you kick all of us out, who’s gonna drive your cabs, pick your food, work in your kitchens or raise your kids?”
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