About

My name is Chasity Alvarez, I am the founder of Fair Unity, and Fair Unity Unleashed.  I got involved with immigration advocacy when my husband was placed in removal proceedings.  (Over two years now, and still in removal proceedings)

My wake up call was at my husbands Master Hearing.  Seeing all the terrified faces packed in that small room made me realize this issue is not secular, and contrary to popular belief, it is not an issue that only impacts “Mexicans”.

Seeing the young kids in that room changed me.  It lit a passion inside myself that I didn’t know existed.  I knew immediately something had to be done, things had to change.

Just over a year ago Fair Unity stated.  It started as a place for families to meet, to console each other, and to help each other through the painful process.  Fair Unity is a faith based group.  We have said from day one, we don’t look to Washington to help our families.  We are relying on the power above for that.

Answers to common questions I receive:

1.  Why do you want us to reward “criminals”?   Well first of all, a majority of those here are not criminals.  They are in violation of a  civil law, not a criminal law.  In immigration law, it only becomes a criminal violation upon reentry.  Most have been here over a decade.  Second, I do not, nor do others that I know of, demand a reward.  A reward is having something given to you freely.  Nothing in S.744 (Which I personally do not support) is a reward.  People must jump through hoops to redeem themselves.  In a real way, they must sell themselves to the US Government for 13+ years in order to achieve this dream.  Lastly, you have to understand the contributing factors.  If people want to criminalize human beings for crossing the border without permission, then they also must hold those who allowed and welcomed them.  That isn’t being done.  All of the blame goes to the undocumented person, ergo, granting a “pathway” is not amnesty or rewarding them.  They will pay tooth and nail for crossing here without papers or overstaying their visas.

2.  Do they pay taxes?  Overwhelmingly yes, billions of dollars each year.  They pay into systems they can never collect from, such as Social Security etc.  Their contributions with no take away, help keep our vital systems going. We would be crazy to say all of them pay taxes, just like American Citizens who are paid under the table, some undocumented immigrants do not either.  This is a great reason to reform our broken immigration system.  CBO Report    ITIN    Citizens for Tax Justice  USA Today Article   Think Progress  New York Daily News 

3.  I heard they use up all our welfare.  You heard wrong.  These people are hiding in the shadows, what sense would it then make for them to walk into a Government office with their hand out?  None.  But, just in case you’re still not convinced, allow me to be more specific.  Any US Citizen and legal US Resident (after a time) can occur Government assistance.  This includes the spouses and children of those who are undocumented.  Now, let’s assume an American Citizen wife get’s food stamps.  Does she then feed her husband separately?  No, we can all say no.  So if you want to split hairs, we can say yes, they can benefit from the system, but they themselves can not get assistance.  The same however can be said if you go to your cousins house for dinner and said cousin is on welfare.  You’re then technically benefiting from welfare.

4.  They are taking over our schools.  Overwhelmingly, these people are paying into the same school system their children are attending.  Many times, those children are American Citizens with at least one US Citizen parent.

5.  They drain our healthcare.  It is true that undocumented immigrants can go into an ER and receive medical care, even if they never pay the bill.  However, reforming the broken immigration system would take care of this issue.

6.  They broke the law and are now demanding we help them.  Well you’re partly right.  Typically when you see rallies for immigration reform, the majority of those people protesting and demanding Family Unity, are in fact US Citizens who are related to undocumented immigrants.  That is an estimated 16.6 million American Citizens.

7.  Why don’t they just come the right way like my ancestors did?  Well first of all, your ancestors weren’t under today’s law, so that’s like comparing apples to oranges.  If your ancestors were subjected to today’s laws, you probably wouldn’t be here.  Second, 56% of those here undocumented are Mexican Nationals.  Mexico and the Philippians have the longest wait times and shortest quotas of all countries.  Decades pass while in line waiting to get here.  If you’re starving, if your kids or elderly parents are starving, you don’t exactly have decades to wait.  Third, because of the hoops that people are required to jump through.  The quota system only being one.  If you’re poor, unskilled, you have no chance to legally migrate.  The laws themselves were designed to promote illegal entry.  Those who come here are coming here because they are poor, yet we hinder the poor from coming, ergo we have 11 million people living in the shadows.

8.  You’re an American Citizen, I thought that made it “automatic”.  Ummm, no!  My citizenship is very little help to my husband.  Marriage to a US Citizen makes it only slightly easier, but it is in no way automatic.  Slightly faster is all.

9.  Chasity, do you receive welfare?  Never, not a single day in my life, and if I was to get on welfare, it would completely hurt my husbands case.  Even though he is my husband, I still have to prove that I can provide for him and he wont become a burden to the state.  My obtaining welfare would completely wreck that.

10.  Chasity, does your husband pay taxes?  Yes.  He has been here for 13 years and has always paid taxes.

11.  Chasity, does your husband have a criminal history?  Nope, clean as a whistle both here and in Mexico.

12.  Why don’t you just go to Mexico with him?  Well, who are you to kick me out of my country?  Who are you to ask me to choice between my US Family and my husband?  Who are you to send me to poverty?  Who are you to take me from my doctors?  Many of the people who are in this situation can’t go to a third world country.  Namely the financial reason, but also some people have children from previous relationships they can’t leave.  Some people (myself) have health issues that wont be treated well if they went to a country that had less than desirable health care.

Do you have a question?  Leave me a comment, I will do my best to answer it and if I can’t I will find someone who can.