The long road to the American dream
Legal immigrants get caught in debate crossfire
March 19, 1996
In the debate over how to stop illegal immigration, legal immigrants feel they have been caught in the crossfire. A proposed change in immigration law would make it harder for legal immigrants to bring their siblings and parents to the United States. In part two of our four-part series, we profile several legal immigrants and their journeys to citizenship.
Web posted at: 8:15 p.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Mary Anne McRae
NEW YORK (CNN) -- As the only neurosurgeon in southern Kuwait, Dr. Nabeel Kouka had a thriving practice and a good life (102K AIFF sound or 102K WAV sound). Then the Iraqis came and forever changed his life.
"The Iraqis jailed me because they suspected me -- because I was treating the Kuwaiti resistance group," said Kouka, a Palestinian.
But the Iraqis needed Kouka and soon let him out of jail.
"They did not have any neurosurgeons. So they asked me if I can help. I say, a human being is a human being, and I will treat anybody regardless of nationality or political reason or whatever."
He put that principle into practice and helped the Iraqis -- and because of it, the Kuwaitis put him back in jail after the Gulf War ended.
Then he began his long journey to America.
With the help of a human rights group, Kouka got out of prison and was granted asylum in the United States, a process that he discovered was painfully long. He arrived in 1991 and was granted asylum in 1993.
"When I arrived here, I wanted to be American citizen today before tomorrow ... Because I felt this is the place where I can live forever."
But the system doesn't work that swiftly. It was another two years before he was granted permanent resident status.
So it troubles Kouka that those who have traveled the long, legal road are caught up in the debate over illegal immigration.
A teacher's perspective
Legal immigrants remind us time and again that the United States is a country of immigrants, that with new people come fresh ideas, helping to keep the country competitive in a world market.
But some critics say immigrants take both high-tech and low-wage jobs from Americans. Others, like Gloria Catanzaro, say they take the jobs Americans don't want (119K AIFF sound or 119K WAV sound).
As a teacher at Brooklyn's Mercy College, whose extension school students are mostly from Eastern Europe, Catanzaro sees the immigrants' struggle every day. She says immigrants work hard in the United States because they have no place to return to.
Many of Mercy's immigrant students are working parents. Some are old. Some are young. But they share the same dream of getting ahead in America.
"For the immigrant, the job opportunity is not as great as for the Americans," said Sylvia Goraj, one of Mercy's students. "But I think we still can make a good living over here and we can learn something."
Polish immigrant Iwona Przybylska says she feels the same way. "I found out there is a better life. And I'm so happy, and my studies give me a lot of opportunity for my future ... of course, for my kids."
Families fear permanent division
Olivene Schiraldi has similar hopes for a sibling. She left Jamaica in the late 1970s, became a U.S. citizen a decade later, and hoped her two sisters would follow.
One did. But Schiraldi worries about what will happen to her other sister if Congress restricts entry to extended families.
"My sister has no else to sponsor her. And (she) only relies on me and my other sister," she said.
Dr. Kouka relies on three jobs as a medical consultant and technician, but he hopes one day to be a surgeon again.
He and his wife, Olga, chose to live near the ocean in New Jersey, as they did in Kuwait. Kouka says, he equates the ocean with his freedom.
"I'm a person who loves the sea and loves to live freedom."
Next in our series on immigration
CNN's Anthony Collings examines how well the federal government does its job of stemming the tide of illegal aliens across the border with Mexico near San Diego.
Related stories:
- Coming to America: Melting pot starts to boil
- Open arms, outstretched hands
- Rush is on for U.S. citizenship
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