Immigration Stories
LaserWolf
Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
My grandfather was an illegal immigrant.My mother came to this country after the Nazis marched into Austria in 1938. My grandfather bribed a Long Island cousin into agreeing to sponsor my mother. My grandfather was not able to get any one to sponsor him and his wife. But he kept trying.My grandfather was a hustler, and has some stories:1) In an attempt to get an exit visa my grandfather went with a friend to the US embassy in Vienna. When they got there the authorities were violent turning away a crowd of Jews trying to get to the embassy. My grandfather's friend panicked and ran and was shot (or maybe arrested). My grandfather approached the highest ranking officer he could find and in American accented broken German asked if this was the US embassy. The officer escorted him safely into the embassy.2)All the Jewish men in his neighborhood were ordered to report a local school. They were lined up and an officer sent most through a door into another room, a few old men were told they could go back home. When my grandfather was told to go to the other room he instead held back, then went to a guard at the door and told him the officer said he was to leave. The guard escorted him out. Those who went to the other room were never heard from again. ("Never heard from again" was a euphemism in my family for died in a concentration camp.)After a few years the Long Island cousins got sick of having my mother around and decided the only way to get rid of her was to sponsor my grandparents. With a US sponsor they were able to get an exit visa to the US. My grandparents were very poor at this point. He had long lost both his aluminum factories, the one in Germany was nationalized by the Nazis, the Austrian one was lost to a worker revolt. He "sold" that one to the Long Island cousin after he lost it. Like I said he was a hustler.Back to leaving Austria. They went to Italy where they were supposed to catch a boat to the US. Instead they figured it was their last chance to see Italy. They spent 2 weeks touring Italy in the midst of war. When their money ran out they went back to the port they were to depart from. Lacking money for tickets he found a man who would pay their way if they would take some suitcases filled with graphite.After gathering up my mother and being resettled in Syracuse he continued to hustler. With no food in the house and only .30c Maxie decided they should go to the movies. Their .30 cents got them entrance to the movies, popcorn and bingo cards. He won $100 at bingo.So back to the illegal part. Eventually the graphite smuggling plot was exposed and a group of men including my grandfather were arrested. The other men pled guilty and were given probation. My grandfather did not want to risk his chances of gaining US citizenship so he pleaded innocent, was tried and convicted. He served a short sentence at a minimum security prison which he called the chess club.So you see they were illegal immigrants. I am the grandson of an illegal immigrant.Let's hear your families immigration stories.
Comments
Please write it up and post when you have time.
He lives in Mexico now.
I asked him why he never went for citizenship, he said, "It's not my country. Plus, my friend got citizenship and immediately they drafted him to Vietnam. "
My mother's father moved from Milan, Italy as a child.
I know almost nothing about The Chinese Exclusion Act or Angel Island. Let's hear your stories.
I really wish I knew more about my grandparent's trek over from Europe. It wasn't until the summer before my grandfather passed away that I learned the village name in Northern Italy that he was from.
I 95% sure my grandmother was born in the States, and her parents made the trip from Sicily. No details on their voyage over.
My grandfather's parents story is something like this: Great-grandfather came to the USA for work with the promise to send money so his wife and kids could come over and they would be together. From what I understand he had minimal contact with his family once he got here. My great-grandmother saved enough money over a few years to bring the family over and tracked him down in the mines of Western PA. My grandfather was 13.
Ours too. He snuck over from Canada I think after escaping the Nazis. The rest of his fam wasn't so lucky.