Immigration laws force harsh decisions on families

We have to make decisions every day, with some being more difficult than others. Whether it is choosing the classes that you will be taking next semester, or debating on Honey Nut Cheerios versus Lucky Charms for breakfast, these choices are typical daily occurrences that we tend to overlook. Besides, most of these decisions are reversible.

You can sign yourself up for a 3000-level physics class, find that you truthfully aren't missing out on anything and drop the course. When you head down to South for breakfast, not only can you have your Honey Nut Cheerios and eat it too, but heck, you can top off that bowl of oats by mixing some sugary rainbow and clover marshmallows in there as well.

But what if you were faced with a different kind of choice, one that was substantially more significant than your everyday breakfast consumption? Thirteen-year-old Noriko Calderon of Japan faced the heartbreaking decision of either leaving the country with her parents, who were being deported back to the Philippines, or staying behind.

In the early 1990s, Calderon's parents used fake passports to illegally immigrate to Japan from the Philippines, and eventually had their daughter, who was born and raised in Japan. In 2006, Calderon's mother was arrested by immigrant officials, and for the past three years, the Calderon family has been engaged in a legal battle to remain in Japan, justifying that Calderon's father had a stable job and that the only language Calderon spoke was Japanese. Ultimately, both Calderon's parents were forced to move back to their native homeland, with the Japanese government leaving Calderon's future in her own hands. Tearfully, Calderon decided to stay behind in Tokyo and live with an aunt.

Calderon's story has sparked activists to question whether Japan's strict immigration laws are a violation of human rights, specifically those of Calderon. This young girl must carry the burden of her decision, one which would be devastating to most adults, never mind children. Illegal immigration is a major problem, and while the Japanese government may be satisfied to punish Calderon's parents, in reality, the individual who is truly being punished is a young girl.

The Calderons immigrated to Japan because they wanted a better life for themselves as well as their family. As parents, they have their child's best interests in mind; of course they won't bring their daughter back to a country that may prevent her from having access to every opportunity. The Calderons came from a poor farming community in the Philippines, where we can only assume that, had Calderon been raised there, she would never have had the same educational and job options as she has today as a result from growing up in Japan. Calderon, just as any child, deserves to have every opportunity available.

More importantly, she also deserves to be protected. Not only is she being separated from the people who protect her and love her most, but she is essentially being denied visitation from her parents as well. She's 13 years old, and Japanese immigration law will prohibit the Calderons from entering the country for five years, so Calderon will probably not see her parents she is 18. They will miss many of her milestones, and she won't have her parents there in her teenage years.

While Japan's Immigration Bureau is claiming that the family's illegal presence is an "extremely malicious" violation that "shakes the foundation of Japan's immigrant control," why are they choosing to single out the Calderon family? Surely, they are not the only immigrants to have ever illegally entered the country, so why, after almost 20 years of residency, force them to return to the Philippines? Yes, the Calderons violated Japanese law, but is it not the immigrants (in almost any country for that matter) who keep the economy and the country at large from screeching to a deafening halt? Is it not the immigrants who largely contribute to the population of individuals that labor away in sweat shops under hazardous conditions and unfair pay, so that we can have our Nike sneakers, laptops and cell phones? The Japanese government is quick to slap the wrists and send illegal immigrants packing, but fails to recognize that, without their labor, their economy would virtually collapse.

Calderon's situation touches not only on ethical issues, such as violating a child's right to protection, but it further emphasizes that immigration reform is desperately needed. Families have and will continue to be torn apart as a result of parents being deported, and consequently, will make it even more difficult for them to return.