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Immigration Experience/McGovern
Charles Cooper On Immigration and Living In the U.S.
By Munirah McGovern



Charles Cooper has been living in the United States. since he arrived here to attend college at the age of 18. Twenty-seven years later, classified as a resident alien, he lives in Ypsilanti, Mich. with his family, where he makes his living as an architect.
Mr. Cooper, 45, is a black man, tall and lanky, who wears glasses and is slightly balding. He arrived here from Liberia in 1980, married his sweetheart who followed him here soon after, and began a family that now includes six children. His motive for coming to America was to attend college, first in Detroit, and then at the University of Michigan.
When he first entered the country, he was granted a non-immigrant visa, and once he was a student he received a visa which allowed him to stay for the duration of his college
career but would not allow him to work in this country. When he graduated from college, Mr. Cooper was given an immigrant visa, also known as a green card, so he could continue to reside in the United States for an extended period of time.
Since his original move here, he has visited Africa four times, but has continued to reside in Ypsilanti, Mich. His wife has since become a U.S. citizen, but he is still known as a resident alien, a foreigner with permission to live in the country. Although he has no plans to become a citizen in the near future, he is still opinionated about U.S. policies concerning immigrants and the changes that have occurred since his arrival here.
When it comes to the current U.S. immigration policy, Mr. Cooper was quick to point out the differences between now and when he entered the country. The rise of terrorism has made the U.S. wary of a large influx of new immigrants, a sharp contrast to the situation when he arrived here. “Back then they were actively seeking people to immigrate here, now there’s a lot more restrictions. Everybody’s paranoid, and for good reason. I don’t like it, but I understand,”.

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