April 10, 2006: "But it's my RIGHT to be here..."

By Laura Mansfield

If you talk to anyone who knows Ahmed Rafa'at, you'll hear only positive things. He's hardworking, juggling two jobs. His neighbors in his Norcross, GA apartment complex describe him as "polite", "friendly", and "helpful".

One elderly neighbor can't say enough nice things about Rafa'at. "He takes me to Publix when I need to buy groceries, and to CVS to get my medicines. He takes me to the bank, and to the doctor. I don't know what I'd do without him."

Other neighbor's echo these sentiments.

To all outside appearances, Rafa'at appears to be the poster-boy for community Citizen of the Month.

But Rafa'at has a secret.

Rafa'at isn't the community "Citizen of the Month" by a long shot. He's not a US citizen at all. He isn't even supposed to be here.

Ahmed Rafa'at is an illegal alien.

Ahmed's story is like that of hundreds of thousands of other illegal aliens, who remain in this country in violation of US Immigration laws.

"I have to be very careful," explained Rafa'at, "because my visa has expired in 2000, and I didn't get it renewed."

"I came to America, first to New Jersey, in 2000, to bring my mother to visit my relatives, on a tourist visa. My mother was old to travel alone, so I came with her. When she went back to Egypt, I stayed."

"I was dating an American woman and thought we would get married and I would get my green card. So I got a job in a restaurant and just stayed, even after my girlfriend and I broke up."

"After September 11, it was hard to be an Egyptian Muslim this close to New York. I had a friend who worked in a restaurant in Atlanta. He got me a job down here. So I moved to Georgia," he explained.

Ahmed Rafa'at is a "visa overstayer". But is Ahmed Rafa'at a criminal? Technically, he's in violation of US law, which by definition makes him just that.

But Raa'at doesn't consider himself to be a criminal.

"I bought a new car. GMAC gave me a loan for it. I have a bank account, and credit cards. I have a job. I pay taxes and Social Security. I have medical insurance. I pay my bills. I help my neighbors. How can I be a criminal?" he asks.

"Your country is willing to take my tax money. So if they take my money then they should not be unwilling for me to stay here. Every time I buy something at the store they take 6 or 7 percent for sales tax. Every paycheck gets several hundred dollars taken out for taxes and social insurance," he points out. "I even got a tax refund last year."

At first glance, it may look like overstaying a visa and becoming an illegal alien is a victimless crime.

But when you take a closer look, it becomes apparent that this crime, like most other crimes, is certainly not victimless.

Ahmed Rafa'at won't answer the tough questions, like where did he get the social security number that he is using to work and file his tax returns under? Who does that social security number belong to? He won't answer either.

He says he has insurance. He says he pays his car payments, and bills on time. But let's say that Ahmed is picked up in an illegal alien round-up. Who is going to make the payments then? The legal owner of the social security card is going to be first on the first of people that his creditors approach for payment. They will a monumental task of separating their personal business from that of Ahmed Rafa'at.

What about the IRS? Ultimately the legal owner of that social security number is going to come to the attention of the IRS, because their combined taxable income along with Rafa'ats could at the very least trigger an audit.

This is by no stretch of the imagination a victimless crime. The laws are on the book for a reason. They need to be obeyed - and they need to be enforced.

A nation has a sovereign right to decide who can enter the country. Virtually no other country in the world ignores illegal immigrants the way the United States does.

When I was in Egypt, unless you were on a valid work, student, diplomatic, or business visa, or were married to an Egyptian, chances are you were on a tourist visa. Tourist visas could be obtained a the airport by arriving with a valid return ticket, and then converting a specific amount of US dollars or other hard currency into Egyptian pounds - at the government exchange rate, which was approximately a third of the black market exchange rate.

The visa could be extended almost indefinitely, assuming you didn't annoy the Egyptian government in some way, as long as you continued to change money each month.

Foreigners who chose to stay considered this part of the cost of living in Egypt. The Egyptian government increased the pool of hard currency in their banks. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

When the foreigner on the tourist visa stopped changing money, they went home. There were too many occasions where you had to show your passport to risk staying in Egypt without a valid visa. If you got caught overstaying, you got charged a huge fine, and sent home. (Remember that valid return ticket!)

The United States is built on a foundation of immigration. Those immigrants who came here and helped make this country followed the rules. Some who wished to come here were turned back at Ellis Island.

We need immigrants but we need immigrants who will follow the laws of this country, not immigrants who make up their own rules as they go along, for their own personal gain or convenience.

We need immigrants.

But we need the RIGHT kind of immigrants if this country is to remain great.