One of the rallying cries of the American Revolution was "No taxation without representation!" American colonists resented that they had to pay taxes but had no say in who represented them in government back in Britain.

Unfortunately, today, there is another group of people being taxed without getting a say in their representation: documented, non-citizen immigrants.

This group is often forgotten in the immigration debate. We put people in the boxes of citizen or unauthorized and forget that there are those living here who are neither. These immigrants, despite doing everything right as they say, despite being contributing, tax-paying members of society, are not allowed any say in who represents them, because they are not allowed voting rights.

Permanent residents should be allowed to vote. Many have lived here for decades and plan to live here for the foreseeable future — hence the "permanent" part of their label. They care about the state of the country, they are affected by its policies, and they give back to help keep it running, just like citizens.

One woman I spoke to has lived here since she was five years old. Alejandra came to the U.S. legally and she regularly gets her green card renewed. She has been a permanent resident for more than 35 years. Alejandra said she knows she should try to become a citizen, but it costs upwards of $1,000, with legal fees. She has a decent job, but like plenty of citizens in the United States, she doesn't have a spare $1,000.

My neighbor Kazuyo came to the United States from Japan for college on a student visa and later got a green card. She's been an international flight attendant for a U.S.-based airline for more than 27 years, which gives her the added benefit of being able to visit her family often when she works on flights to Japan. She's a great asset to have on these flights, since she is fluent in both English and Japanese.

My neighbor is smart and politically aware, and of course, she pays taxes, does charity work, and contributes to America in many other ways. I asked her why she does not simply go through the citizenship process. Japan does not offer dual citizenship, so she would need to revoke her Japanese citizenship to become a U.S. citizen. It was already hard on her parents when she moved permanently to the United States, and revoking the citizenship of her home country would feel like further abandonment. For their sake, Kazuyo feels she should remain a Japanese citizen. In the meantime, she remains unrepresented by any elected officials.

The fact that non-citizen legal immigrants in the U.S. cannot vote is a form of voter suppression. Laws like the poll tax were struck down because our courts decided that financial barriers to voting were unconstitutional. But how is the financial barrier of becoming a citizen any different?

Kazuyo is considerate of her parents' feelings. She may or may not apply for citizenship after they are gone. But should the value she places on family and her respect for her parents prevent her from having a say in legislation that may affect her? Normally, these would be traits that America admires and embraces. The traits you'd want in someone who is at the voting booth, choosing our leaders.

It's time to let the voices of millions of permenant residents finally be heard, in the country they chose to make their home.

Rosemary Curts is a high school teacher for Dallas ISD and a 2018 Dallas Morning News Community Voices columnist.

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