reversed immigration -- "zur strafe ab nach deutschland"

-- the story of two americans at heart who got deported to germany, their official home

gary is brave and you can't help liking him by the end of this half-hour documentary produced by the german public station hessischer rundfunk.

but before rousing your interest, be aware, the documentary is only in german. so i apologize to my english readers beforehand. yet, i wanted to share this interesting slice of immigration tales which affects 150 people caught between the united states and germany every year according to the report.

as children brought into the united states by german mothers, gary and alexander never formally became u.s. citizens. now gary in his twenties and alexander who is married in his forties offended u.s. law and got kicked out.

gary stole a couple of pairs of boots, alexander dealt with drugs. any criminal offense, the documentary tells, that warrants more than one year in a u.s. jail results in deportation for anyone who is illegally in the united states. both never bothered to apply for regular citizenship because they had permanent residency, meaning, they could do what every u.s. citizens can do except to vote.

now they are banned from returning to the united states where they lived since early childhood for ten years. they were forced back to germany, their official home country feeling as a friend of alexander likens it as if they landed on the moon.

while the drug offender alexander doesn't speak german and struggles heavily to use the subway system in frankfurt, where both of them live, gary picked up his mother tongue again and copes as best as possible to start a new life.

both arrived with nothing more than the clothes on their back.

and it is the rather big optimistic gary that arouses great sympathy with the viewer. he works as a janitor in a home for disabled children, keeps up hope to find an apartment to escape the bureaucratically assigned dormitory even after the eighth rejection, and hunts for his older brother given up for adoption in germany before gary was born.

the documentary reminded me of a key issue for any immigrant: being allowed to be where you are. it sounds strange and simple. but your legal status is like a twin sister or brother. it is with you and be better in lock-step with where you are any time. it often has an expiration date or deadline to be aware of and planned for. also, being allowed to reside in a country state doesn't mean you can leave and re-enter it at whim.

but traveling is no option for alexander in the documentary at the moment anyway. he is fighting to even visit back in his u.s. american home at the pacific coast in case his mother dies during his ten-year absence. she is fighting cancer having gone through five surgeries already. maybe a visitation permit for humanitarian reasons can be successful, recommend lawyers without borders. but as the city is a maze for alexander, so is u.s. immigration law. after all, he lived in the u.s. since age two.

but, before spoiling the complete story for my german-understanding readers, see for yourself the curious case of two american-germans caught between transatlantic bureaucracy. by the way, at present overall about 400,000 people are detained in u.s. prisons destined for deportation.

"zur strafe ab nach deutschland"

-- eine reportage von götz schauder (hessischer rundfunk)
http://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/servlet/content/3517136?documentId=4161916