James Caton: You have probably heard people say, why can't they just emigrate the way my parents did, the right way? Catch this conversation with attorney, sister, Attracta Kelly, and you might be surprised to really understand how it happened back in the day. Sister Kelly, good morning. Welcome to the program.
Attracta Kelly: Good morning, James. It's nice to be here.
James Caton: Thank you for ⁓ joining us today. ⁓ I'm really, really, really looking forward to this discussion. It's an important ⁓ and timely topic, so a huge thank you. ⁓ for the audience that ⁓ may not know you very well, ⁓ tell us a little bit about yourself, the Adrian Dominicans, the history, the work that you do with migrants. you enjoyed this inside look at the US immigration system with Attorney Sister Attractive Kelly. Please hit subscribe or follow and you will be updated when we publish the remaining segments of this conversation and other similar stories. Thank you.
Attracta Kelly: Yes, I'm ⁓ Adrian Dominicans That's Adrian, Michigan. And ⁓ I have ⁓ actually been working in immigration since I graduated from law school in 1996. And ⁓ of course, the areas where we work is low-income immigrants throughout the country. ⁓ And I ⁓ did work, I worked in North Carolina for 11 years. And ⁓ then I have been working here in Adrian. ⁓ since 2010. ⁓ Absolutely, ⁓ there are migrants here. Adrian is in Michigan. ⁓ There are lots of immigrants who come here and certainly we have lots of large farms and factories where many of our
James Caton: And Adrian is a migrant community.
Attracta Kelly: immigrants work and ⁓ spend their time working and paying taxes and also trying their very best to get legal status here in the United States. ⁓ There are, in addition to farm workers, are also a number of families who have had to flee their home countries because of ⁓ the situation in those countries. ⁓ Otherwise they would be ⁓ imprisoned in their home country or they would be ⁓ possibly killed. and I shouldn't say possibly, I would say probably killed because of the situations there. So we have a number of persons in that regard who are ⁓ eligible for asylum or there are also a number of refugees around. ⁓ not necessarily in Lenawee County, but in counties around and in some of the bigger cities of Detroit. Adrian is not a very big city. ⁓ so basically those are the ⁓ families that we would be working with here. I first got the impression that immigration law would be ⁓ more just than it is. It is more, very much more difficult to get legal status than most of us realize. And ⁓ I should start off by saying I'm an immigrant myself. I was born in Ireland and came to...
James Caton: I can hear a little bit of that Irish accent.
Attracta Kelly: I know when I go back to Ireland they call me a yank. yes. ⁓ Anyway, I think for most people they retain part of their ⁓ original ⁓ accent, which they don't even, we don't even know we have. It's other people detect it.
James Caton: Bye. Yeah. had a chat a little while ago ⁓ and immigration process has changed. ⁓ There's kind of the before and people always say, ⁓ people should do the way that it to be done before. ⁓ And the impression was that the way it was done before was, quote, unquote, the right way. And one of the comments that you made was that ⁓ things were done today the way they were done before, in some cases it might be considered fraud things were done today the way they were done before, ⁓ in some cases it might be considered fraud because the process previously was really, really informal. ⁓ So, would love to hear from you a little bit about what the process used to be like, ⁓ what the categories immigration are, ⁓ and what that looks like as well, ⁓ because that's something that you deal with every day, right? ⁓
Attracta Kelly: You Yes. ⁓
James Caton: Classify themselves or how we classify them for immigration purposes, right? so maybe a discussion on how it used to be And then just you know a perspective on how things really are today
Attracta Kelly: That's right. Well, certainly ⁓ in the past, and many people talk about their ancestors, and certainly I would say ⁓ most people living in the United States are descendants of immigrants other than the native ⁓ people who were here. And certainly, ⁓ people who were enslaved and brought in here, ⁓ not having any ⁓ intention themselves of having to live like that for years. ⁓ So in the past, as people came, ⁓ I know they went through, for many, went through Ellis Island and... ⁓ that would be coming from across the oceans. Okay? And... ⁓ They were asked a couple questions. ⁓ that's all that was needed, an They were asked a couple questions. If they had somebody they were going to. And they would give the name of somebody, might be a relative someplace. And that's all that was needed, an address. And ⁓ they were also asked if they had a communicable disease. ⁓ I'm not sure anybody would, ⁓ I don't think they were examined. I they ⁓ they didn't have any physical. ⁓ I didn't have to have a special doctor who examined them. No. They were asked if they had a communicable disease and if they, I'm not sure anybody ever said yes. And if they had committed a crime involving moral torpitude. Now, ⁓ I don't know that anybody, if they were asked in that phrase whether or not they would even begin to have the biggest idea what moral torpitude is. It would be. Okay. So that they pass through and I think we know lots of things that happened in that regard, that way many were... ⁓
James Caton: That might be true today also, sister.
Attracta Kelly: ⁓ very well educated and oftentimes they had trouble. ⁓ trying to get their proper ⁓ surname to the immigration agent who would be there. And so for many families, their name was ⁓ messed up as they came across and they have lived with that for the rest of their lives because whatever was on that the agent had written, that's who you were, continued, that's how you made it into the states. ⁓ So a name like mine, they had no problems. It was Kelly. They figured that one out. However, as you well know, K-E-L-L-Y is the original, which is mine. And others have added E's and two E's and something else. So today, things are very, very different.
Attracta Kelly: Good morning, James. It's nice to be here.
James Caton: Thank you for ⁓ joining us today. ⁓ I'm really, really, really looking forward to this discussion. It's an important ⁓ and timely topic, so a huge thank you. ⁓ for the audience that ⁓ may not know you very well, ⁓ tell us a little bit about yourself, the Adrian Dominicans, the history, the work that you do with migrants. you enjoyed this inside look at the US immigration system with Attorney Sister Attractive Kelly. Please hit subscribe or follow and you will be updated when we publish the remaining segments of this conversation and other similar stories. Thank you.
Attracta Kelly: Yes, I'm ⁓ Adrian Dominicans That's Adrian, Michigan. And ⁓ I have ⁓ actually been working in immigration since I graduated from law school in 1996. And ⁓ of course, the areas where we work is low-income immigrants throughout the country. ⁓ And I ⁓ did work, I worked in North Carolina for 11 years. And ⁓ then I have been working here in Adrian. ⁓ since 2010. ⁓ Absolutely, ⁓ there are migrants here. Adrian is in Michigan. ⁓ There are lots of immigrants who come here and certainly we have lots of large farms and factories where many of our
James Caton: And Adrian is a migrant community.
Attracta Kelly: immigrants work and ⁓ spend their time working and paying taxes and also trying their very best to get legal status here in the United States. ⁓ There are, in addition to farm workers, are also a number of families who have had to flee their home countries because of ⁓ the situation in those countries. ⁓ Otherwise they would be ⁓ imprisoned in their home country or they would be ⁓ possibly killed. and I shouldn't say possibly, I would say probably killed because of the situations there. So we have a number of persons in that regard who are ⁓ eligible for asylum or there are also a number of refugees around. ⁓ not necessarily in Lenawee County, but in counties around and in some of the bigger cities of Detroit. Adrian is not a very big city. ⁓ so basically those are the ⁓ families that we would be working with here. I first got the impression that immigration law would be ⁓ more just than it is. It is more, very much more difficult to get legal status than most of us realize. And ⁓ I should start off by saying I'm an immigrant myself. I was born in Ireland and came to...
James Caton: I can hear a little bit of that Irish accent.
Attracta Kelly: I know when I go back to Ireland they call me a yank. yes. ⁓ Anyway, I think for most people they retain part of their ⁓ original ⁓ accent, which they don't even, we don't even know we have. It's other people detect it.
James Caton: Bye. Yeah. had a chat a little while ago ⁓ and immigration process has changed. ⁓ There's kind of the before and people always say, ⁓ people should do the way that it to be done before. ⁓ And the impression was that the way it was done before was, quote, unquote, the right way. And one of the comments that you made was that ⁓ things were done today the way they were done before, in some cases it might be considered fraud things were done today the way they were done before, ⁓ in some cases it might be considered fraud because the process previously was really, really informal. ⁓ So, would love to hear from you a little bit about what the process used to be like, ⁓ what the categories immigration are, ⁓ and what that looks like as well, ⁓ because that's something that you deal with every day, right? ⁓
Attracta Kelly: You Yes. ⁓
James Caton: Classify themselves or how we classify them for immigration purposes, right? so maybe a discussion on how it used to be And then just you know a perspective on how things really are today
Attracta Kelly: That's right. Well, certainly ⁓ in the past, and many people talk about their ancestors, and certainly I would say ⁓ most people living in the United States are descendants of immigrants other than the native ⁓ people who were here. And certainly, ⁓ people who were enslaved and brought in here, ⁓ not having any ⁓ intention themselves of having to live like that for years. ⁓ So in the past, as people came, ⁓ I know they went through, for many, went through Ellis Island and... ⁓ that would be coming from across the oceans. Okay? And... ⁓ They were asked a couple questions. ⁓ that's all that was needed, an They were asked a couple questions. If they had somebody they were going to. And they would give the name of somebody, might be a relative someplace. And that's all that was needed, an address. And ⁓ they were also asked if they had a communicable disease. ⁓ I'm not sure anybody would, ⁓ I don't think they were examined. I they ⁓ they didn't have any physical. ⁓ I didn't have to have a special doctor who examined them. No. They were asked if they had a communicable disease and if they, I'm not sure anybody ever said yes. And if they had committed a crime involving moral torpitude. Now, ⁓ I don't know that anybody, if they were asked in that phrase whether or not they would even begin to have the biggest idea what moral torpitude is. It would be. Okay. So that they pass through and I think we know lots of things that happened in that regard, that way many were... ⁓
James Caton: That might be true today also, sister.
Attracta Kelly: ⁓ very well educated and oftentimes they had trouble. ⁓ trying to get their proper ⁓ surname to the immigration agent who would be there. And so for many families, their name was ⁓ messed up as they came across and they have lived with that for the rest of their lives because whatever was on that the agent had written, that's who you were, continued, that's how you made it into the states. ⁓ So a name like mine, they had no problems. It was Kelly. They figured that one out. However, as you well know, K-E-L-L-Y is the original, which is mine. And others have added E's and two E's and something else. So today, things are very, very different.
