USA IMMIGRATION NEWS

Migrants in focus: 33 foreign born nationals in U.S Olympic team.

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

Even as the U.S. struggles with their immigration policy, Americans will get an opportunity to witness their melting-pot nation through the prism of foreign-born athletes that will compete in USA uniforms at the Beijing Olympics.

According to the U.S. Olympic Committee there are at least 33 of such athletes in the current team in comparison to the 27 that were there at the 2004 Summer Games. No statistics/ records were kept before that.

In the current US Olympic team there are four Chinese-born table tennis players, a kayaker from Britain, Russian-born world champion gymnast Nastia Liukin and seven members of the track-and-field team.

For those seeking symbolism, it's hard to top the men's 1,500-meter squad:

• Kenya native and Tucsonan Bernard Lagat;
• Lopez Lomong, one of the "lost boys" of Sudan's civil war who spent a decade in a refugee camp and then attended Northern Arizona University; and
• Leo Manzano, a Mexican laborer's son who moved to the U.S. when he was 4 but didn't gain citizenship until 2004.

"It's a magical time," U.S. men's track coach Bubba Thornton said. "I'm glad that these young men found their way here. It may just remind us all of where we came from, and how hard the struggle may have been, and how big the dream was to be here."

The three 1,500 runners have been warmly embraced within their sport as have other immigrants who are among the 596 U.S. Olympic athletes.

"I don't think of any of our foreign-born athletes as foreign," said Jill Geer, USA Track & Field's communications director. "In USATF, no one considers them anything but American, and I'm not saying that just because it's the right thing to say."

However, beyond the sphere of sports, the bitter debate over immigration focused on illegal foreigners and whether they should be offered some sort of pathway to citizenship continues.

“Foreign-born Olympians merit public support - but should be viewed as exceptions in a system laden with flaws and unfairness” said, Ira Mehlman of the Federation for american immigration reform, which favors stricter immigration enforcement.

"Not everybody coming into the U.S. is an Olympic athlete or a Nobel prize winner," Mehlman said. "Maybe this ought to be a wake-up call that we ought to design an immigration policy that seeks out exceptional people. Now, most of it is based on extended families . . . you don't have a policy designed to bring in people who fit the needs of this country."

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, said the achievements of naturalized citizens like Lagat and Lomong should be celebrated, but not used as an argument for a more lenient immigration policy. "The American public is starting to sour on all immigration in reaction to rampant illegal immigration," Gheen said. "The danger is if people say, 'Look at these immigrants who are in the Olympics - therefore you should provide a path to citizenship for all the illegal immigrants in the country.' "

Randy Capps, a demographer with the nonpartisan Urban Institute who studies immigrant families, sees the U.S. as keeping pace with global competition in its acceptance of foreign-born athletes.

"Would you rather have them competing for someone else? Would you rather the U.S. be more competitive or less competitive?" he asked. "You wouldn't want an immigration policy that would exclude people who could potentially be the best at what they do."

If you are interested in living & working in USA, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on different visas available to people migrating to USA.