Current Events > Florida Man lived and voted in US for 60 years, discovers he's illegal immigrant

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https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/more-than-60-years-after-moving-to-the-u-s-florida-man-discovers-hes-not-here-legally/

I was blindsided
Outside Jimmy Klasss mobile home in Clearwater, symbols of American pride hang not just front and center but also on the side and back of his home. America is, after all, the only home this 66-year-old has ever known.
I moved to the US in 1959. Ive been here for 64 years, he recently told us.
But after more than half a century in the U.S., where hes lived, worked, gone to school, got married, had kids, paid his taxes, and even voted, Klass said in 2020 he discovered hes not a U.S. citizen.
I just was, like, blindsided, he said about the revelation.
Klass said it all came to light after he applied for the Social Security retirement benefits he had paid into his entire working life.
Youve got to be kidding me, he said. One month, they told me I should expect my first check on the second Wednesday of 2020. But instead, I get a letter stating that I havent proven to them that Im here legally, he said.

Deep Roots in America
Klass was born in Canada, his mom was Canadian, but his father was American, born and raised in New York. Klass said his family moved to the U.S. when he was two and stayed here. As Klass got older, he assumed he, too, was an American, a dual citizen.
He laid out dozens of documents from his past, along with other documents and pictures that offer a glimpse into the deep roots he formed in the U.S. over his lifetime.
You know youre old when the old drivers licenses were paper, he chuckled as he showed us old drivers licenses he had been issued in the U.S.
Klass said he was never questioned about his citizenship status not when he got his Social Security card, Drivers license, or voter registration card.
Ive been voting for over 40 years. I guess Im in a lot of trouble, he said with a sarcastic laugh.
Klass said his citizenship status was also never questioned when he applied for and was approved to serve as a Marine for the U.S. military (he didnt end up serving due to getting a union job, he said). At one point in his life, he was even approved to work for the New Jersey State Police.
The only thing they asked me for was my social security card and my drivers license, he said.
Denied
After learning he wasnt really a U.S. citizen, Klass formally applied for status but was denied.
U.S. Customs & Immigration Services wouldnt share details when we contacted them about Klass case. In an email, a spokesperson stated that they dont talk about individual cases.
But in a 2022 denial letter, the agency stated Klass didnt provide enough evidence to prove his father lived in the U.S. for 10 years before Klass was born, which is a requirement for a child seeking citizenship through a parent.
Klass contacted Senator Marco Rubios office for help and hired an immigration attorney and even a genealogist who found records linking Klass dad to the U.S. in the years before he was born. Still, his fight continues to this day.
By voting as a non-U.S citizen, Klass broke federal law each time he voted in an American election.
Ive seen a handful of cases like this; they dont come around every day, explained Indera Demine, a Fort Myers-based immigration attorney.
Is a complicated and changing US Immigration system to blame?
She said Klass case is likely a reflection of a large, complicated, and changing U.S. immigration system that cant always accurately track whos here legally, illegally, or somewhere in between.
For many years, the DMV and different agencies didnt necessarily communicate with each other, she said, adding that the documentation that you need to renew your drivers license or for Social Security benefits were not as stringent as they are now.
When asked how Klass was able to get a Social Security card, Demine responded, Thats a good question. Its quite possible that back then, the requirements to have a Social Security card are not the same as it is today.
I worked my 50 years, and I paid into my Social Security. They should be paying me, he said about the retirement benefits he was expecting to receive but has yet to collect.
When asked what happens if his case doesnt get resolved and how its changed his view of America, Klass said, Ill probably move back to Canada. Yep, bye-bye, America.

Damn, could've been a US Marine and still been here illegally. It's not too uncommon for people to join the US military to earn their citizenship but almost none would be here illegally (modern day at least)

Wasn't this an episode of Family Guy?

Peter discovers he's an illegal Mexican immigrant?

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Wasn't this an episode of Family Guy?

Peter discovers he's an illegal Mexican immigrant?

I only remember the episode where it turns out his house isn't even part of the US

Taking his money? Fine.
Paying him money? You are an illegal immigrant!!!

wackyteen posted...

But in a 2022 denial letter, the agency stated Klass didnt provide enough evidence to prove his father lived in the U.S. for 10 years before Klass was born, which is a requirement for a child seeking citizenship through a parent.

This is the part that's getting him in trouble, but I don't know where they're getting ten years from. The law states five years.

8 USC 1401:

[The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:]

(e) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1401

If his dad had moved to Canada before he (the father) turned 16 and stayed there until his son was born, then the son wouldn't be considered an American citizen himself.

Wouldn't be the first time someone in Florida was told they were legally allowed to vote, and then someone came around saying they weren't.

Different reasons. But goddamn if the echo doesn't sound nearly the same.