Our system of government and laws is perhaps one of the best, if not the best in the world. However, having been created by humans, and being implemented by humans who are less than perfect, it is far from perfect. Our nationality laws in particular, are cumbersome and at times unfathomable, not in tune with times. At the same time, they appear grossly unfair to some, and unusually lenient for others.
Take for example the current hot issue of illegal aliens. I know, it is not PC to use that term, they are now "undocumented migrants!" It seems that in some cases, the "undocumented" have more rights than those who are legally residing within our borders. It seems that the minute they step on American soil, they are granted all of the rights and protection under the law. Yet, they did not enter this country "legally," they were not invited, they are not even tourists visiting temporarily. In no country in the world such protection and privileges are extended to someone who enters illegally! But this is the United States of America, the land of the free, a nation of immigrants! So, although we are a nation of laws, we seem to disregard laws in this case, the very laws by which we live!
The latest push by some of our law makers to "legalize" the "undocumented," the so called path to citizenship, is somewhat baffling. I have no objections to someone being granted U.S. citizenship after they serve 3 years in the U.S.military, 2 years if served in combat, if somehow the "undocumented" individual manages to enlist. That particular law has been in the books for years, since World War Two. In fact, it was created to attract volunteers for service during World War Two. But to automatically grant citizenship to someone on some technicality despite their illegal entry, is incomprehensible to me. It seems in this case, the law breakers are rewarded! On the other hand, our laws can at times be incredibly inflexible and archaic and cruel to our own!
Not many Americans may know of or remember the first Hawaiian who successfully became a sumo wrestler in Japan. His name is Jesse James Wailani Kuhaulau and he was a sumo wrestler in Japan under the name of Takamiyama Daigoro. Jesse came to Japan in 1963, shortly after he graduated from high school in Hawaii. He was never a great wrestler, but he was good enough to make it to the top division and earn a decent income. Jesse's engaging personality made him extremely popular in Japan. He was constantly appearing in TV commercials, and Japanese, both young and old were very fond of him. However, his career had to come to an end sometime. Usually the sumo-tori's (sumo wrestler's) career lasts but about a decade or so, sort of like an NFL player's. Carrying all that excess weight is not good for health and most retire early. Jesse had been wrestling for 17 years when he started to think about retirement.
The only thing that he could do which would earn him a good income was to remain in sumo as a "stable" master, i.e., trainer of sumo-tori. Japanese law states that in order to become a "stable"(sumo club) master or trainer, you had to be a Japanese citizen. This law dates back some five centuries to sumo's beginning. Sumo is not just a sport, it is an ancient Japanese tradition, very part of the Japanese culture and history. So it made sense, since a sumo stable master is considered a very prestigious position.
So, Jesse came to the U.S. Embassy and consulted with embassy officials, hoping to get some help. He said that he wished to become a naturalized Japanese citizen but did not want to give up his U.S. citizenship. He said that he had no way of making a living to support his family outside of sumo. He had no training or skills in any other area, sumo was his whole life. Unfortunately, he was told that according to our laws, anyone voluntarily accepting another country's citizenship would lose his U.S. citizenship, regardless of circumstances. The law was very inflexible in this area. Jesse argued that it was strictly for economic reasons, he had to make a living. It was not that he was being disloyal to America. America was his country, he insisted, but to no avail. Jesse left the embassy in tears. It was truly disheartening to see such a big, physically powerful man walking out of the embassy with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Jesse became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1980 and his U.S. citizenship was revoked almost immediately. In order for him to visit his parents and his large family and friends in Hawaii from that point on, he had to secure a tourist visa from the U.S. Embassy! That seemed so grossly unfair! Our laws can be very strange. Our government strips someone like Jesse of his citizenship, yet is considering granting blanket citizenship to those who entered this country illegally! Go figure!
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