glad to hear it did not help much!

some very tangible relationship to an actual American citizen is no reason to let illegals stay.

else they would ALL be staying forever!

Not her brother's baby's mama! You barbarians!

Didn't mean it as "they're due" an exemption at all but rather he's been here this long and in all that time he did nothing to remedy his situation? Nope, zero sympathy for you if this is the case.

We personally know someone in a similar spot: DACA 27ish year old teacher, degree from TXST, new homeowner 3 years in, and her entire family minus an older and younger sister are all here illegally same as the guy I mentioned. Been here almost 20 years, family of 6 all under the same roof. Ask me if she's ever been to a lawyer for her family. Or for herself, because the DACA rules are also changing.

Burdizzo said:

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So Leavitt's nephew is an anchor baby

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No. The father is a US citizen and can care for the kid alone.

Oh I'm with ya. Just adding to your point.

I have a buddy who was here for years, and about 10 years ago decided he better go through the process. He is not a citizen and extremely America First.

Aston04 said:

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My first executive order would be for the hot Brazilian women to stay.

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This is the kind of talent we need to be importing. Trump's 600k Chinese students can gtfo

Owlagdad said:

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Had an ugly as heck E-6 in our shop who was married to a knockout from Germany. He told me if she ever left him, she had to go back because she was not citizen. I'm sure laws are different now.

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My grandson was stationed in Germany (Air Force), and they told them if you're a 3 and she's a 10, she's a spy.

Ferg said:

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Owlagdad said:

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Had an ugly as heck E-6 in our shop who was married to a knockout from Germany. He told me if she ever left him, she had to go back because she was not citizen. I'm sure laws are different now.

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My grandson was stationed in Germany (Air Force), and they told them if you're a 3 and she's a 10, she's a spy.

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No matter how good looking that 10 is, there is some dude out there tired of her crap.

Burdizzo said:

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So Leavitt's nephew is an anchor baby

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Deportation time

AggieVictor10 said:

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Burdizzo said:

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So Leavitt's nephew is an anchor baby

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Deportation time

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Except Karoline's brother is likely a US citizen, so not an anchor baby.

I can save her.

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/07/17/ice-deport-moises-sotelo-casas/

Reminded me of this story.

30 years to fix it, owns a vineyard and plenty of resources to get it done.

...now we're supposed to feel bad for them?

The salad decades are over

doubledog said:

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Highway6 said:

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So she has had 26 years to resolve this issue?

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It can cost $5000-10,000 per family for immigration lawyers, fees ($760/person) etc, to apply for citizenship. This is not an excuse it is just a flaw in the system that requires our attention.

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Shouldn't be free

Woman with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released from ICE custody
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/08/politics/karoline-leavitt-ice-relative-release

What it comes down to for me is whether these people have been paying taxes the whole time they "didn't get around to doing the paperwork."

So was she?

If someone had come on a tourist visa but broke the rules under it by working while here on it and then later became a citizen, could/should their citizenship be revoked and them deported?

infinity ag said:

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Woman with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released from ICE custody
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/08/politics/karoline-leavitt-ice-relative-release

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Ordered by a judge.

Burdizzo said:

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So Leavitt's nephew is an anchor baby

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Maybe. I always thought of anchor babies as babies that don't get US citizenship from either parent. This one has an American father, but I guess she will try to anchor herself to the kid.

Aggie1205 said:

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If someone had come on a tourist visa but broke the rules under it by working while here on it and then later became a citizen, could/should their citizenship be revoked and them deported?

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No, as long as they've been good legal citizens. Water under the bridge.

She should have gotten her business handled, but I have to wonder if she made any attempts to get it done.

My wife and I have a former student who was in this situation. He was brought into the country illegally from Mexico when he was three. After he graduated high school (2012), he began the process of obtaining his legal residency. He has a clean record, went to school to become a nurse, got married, bought a house, had kids, basically just doing life right. He finally got everything cleared up earlier this year and has become a legal permanent resident. Unfortunately, I think the irony is lost on him that it was under the Trump administration that this was finally able to be done.

We need a solid and reliable process for people to obtain their legal status, but I don't understand how it can take 13 years for this to get done. He had to jump through more hoops than a dolphin at Sea World.

Highway6 said:

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torrid said:

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Highway6 said:

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So she has had 26 years to resolve this issue?

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Yep, she should have self-deported at age 7.

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Or when she became a responsible adult she could have gone through the process to become a legal citizen.
I guess that's asking too much

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Can you apply for citizenship when you are already here illegally, though? Wouldn't she have had to go back to Brazil and apply?

If so, she should have done that. Just saying it's not as simple as "resolving the issue" while also staying here.

Rex Racer said:

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Highway6 said:

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torrid said:

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Highway6 said:

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So she has had 26 years to resolve this issue?

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Yep, she should have self-deported at age 7.

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Or when she became a responsible adult she could have gone through the process to become a legal citizen.
I guess that's asking too much

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Can you apply for citizenship when you are already here illegally, though? Wouldn't she have had to go back to Brazil and apply?

If so, she should have done that. Just saying it's not as simple as "resolving the issue" while also staying here.

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Yes it is. You have to rectify your error, you have to pay for your crime.

flown-the-coop said:

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Rex Racer said:

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Highway6 said:

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torrid said:

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Highway6 said:

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So she has had 26 years to resolve this issue?

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Yep, she should have self-deported at age 7.

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Or when she became a responsible adult she could have gone through the process to become a legal citizen.
I guess that's asking too much

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Can you apply for citizenship when you are already here illegally, though? Wouldn't she have had to go back to Brazil and apply?

If so, she should have done that. Just saying it's not as simple as "resolving the issue" while also staying here.

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Yes it is. You have to rectify your error, you have to pay for your crime.

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My question is, can you continue living here while you "pay for your crime"? If not, then you can't say someone had years to make it right. They needed to go back. So they would not have the life that they have today.

I'm very much against illegal immigration, so I wouldn't have a problem with them going back. Just trying to use logic here instead of just saying, "They have had years to make it right." As if they would have been able to live the same life and made it right.

I'm thinking they would have had to bite the bullet long ago instead of now.

Rex Racer said:

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flown-the-coop said:

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Rex Racer said:

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Highway6 said:

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torrid said:

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Highway6 said:

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So she has had 26 years to resolve this issue?

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Yep, she should have self-deported at age 7.

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Or when she became a responsible adult she could have gone through the process to become a legal citizen.
I guess that's asking too much

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Can you apply for citizenship when you are already here illegally, though? Wouldn't she have had to go back to Brazil and apply?

If so, she should have done that. Just saying it's not as simple as "resolving the issue" while also staying here.

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Yes it is. You have to rectify your error, you have to pay for your crime.

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My question is, can you continue living here while you "pay for your crime"? If not, then you can't say someone had years to make it right. They needed to go back. So they would not have the life that they have today.

I'm very much against illegal immigration, so I wouldn't have a problem with them going back. Just trying to use logic here instead of just saying, "They have had years to make it right." As if they would have been able to live the same life and made it right.

I'm thinking they would have had to bite the bullet long ago instead of now.

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The guy I referenced in my post did have to go back to Mexico to submit his paperwork.

ABattJudd said:

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Rex Racer said:

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flown-the-coop said:

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Rex Racer said:

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Highway6 said:

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torrid said:

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Highway6 said:

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So she has had 26 years to resolve this issue?

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Yep, she should have self-deported at age 7.

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Or when she became a responsible adult she could have gone through the process to become a legal citizen.
I guess that's asking too much

---

Can you apply for citizenship when you are already here illegally, though? Wouldn't she have had to go back to Brazil and apply?

If so, she should have done that. Just saying it's not as simple as "resolving the issue" while also staying here.

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Yes it is. You have to rectify your error, you have to pay for your crime.

---

My question is, can you continue living here while you "pay for your crime"? If not, then you can't say someone had years to make it right. They needed to go back. So they would not have the life that they have today.

I'm very much against illegal immigration, so I wouldn't have a problem with them going back. Just trying to use logic here instead of just saying, "They have had years to make it right." As if they would have been able to live the same life and made it right.

I'm thinking they would have had to bite the bullet long ago instead of now.

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The guy I referenced in my post did have to go back to Mexico to submit his paperwork.

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Makes sense. Thank you for answering my question.

I think it may be up to individual circumstances and in particular your method of entry and what circumstances resulted in you being "illegal".

In most circumstances my understanding is you would be deported and have to reenter. I had a coworker friend from Jordan here on an H1-B at the time of 9/11. Next time she went to renew her visa, which required applying at a foreign port of entry (most went to El Paso), that she may not be allowed back on. That would mean her job, place, life would be paused in place here until things were sorted if ever. So I get folks anxiety of this. Keep in mind, my friend was here legally and going through the defined process.

But at the end of the day, a just system is one that treats everyone fairly. If you have to go back, you have to go back.

If Bruna Ferreira wanted to be a US citizen, she had 15 years to resolve it.