Posted on 10/19/2007 1:25:01 PM PDT by BillCompton
I am one of the Republicans who was shouted down in the Bush-backed immigration debate. Actually, the words were so hot here, I didn't even bother. I respect those here that feel strongly about the mass of illegals entering the country and I won't go into the reasons I thought the Bush approach was to some degree constructive. The will of the people has been heard.
Now the issue is very different for me. I am heartbroken. My wife teaches high school here in Live Oak, FL. She is relatively new, so she gets lower level students. Every semester, a few "projects" enter her radar screen. She impacts lives and has turned some around. She has lost some. Today we found out we really lost one. Salvador Mendoza is 19 year old and a former student. Until a few days ago, we had no idea he was an illegal alien. He is a fine young man. He pays taxes. makes 35k a year, which is extraordinary for a kid his ages. His job takes a lot of skill and great effort (he cleans out industrial incinerators).
This young man has done yard work for us and has kept our children. He visits every few months and ate dinner with our family last Christmas eve. He always _appreciated_ that my wife had helped him and encouraged him and even fussed at him. We all know that gratitude is the least deeply felt emotion, but his kid has character and class. He graduated on time. When he was 17, he got a ticket for driving without a license. He got a license, did community service instead of paying the fine (big mistake!), and got on with his life. Four nights ago, he was in a small car accident. He has insurance and only his car was involved (he rolled the car on its side, but he and his friend were able to right it with a push.) Before they could carry on, the police arrived. There was an outstanding warrant for not paying the traffic ticket. It was a mistake made by the system at some point, and so he was arrested. When they got him to jail, they ran his id and determined that he was illegal.
Salvador has attend school in our community since he was in the second grade. He speaks without an accent and is as American as I am. He is honest, productive and an absolute asset to our country. Now he is going to be sent to Mexico. He barely remembers the place and his Spanish is not good. He has some family there, because he has been sending them money.
Okay, throw his Mom and Dad out. But he is innocent, isn't he? By what morality can he be considered guilty of anything? Was he suppose to talk his parents out of coming to America? I tell you this is indecent. The sins-of-the-father ethos is more alien to this country than he has ever been.
So instead of having a young tax payer who will raise a family, support his community and (God willing) vote Republican, he is going to a country he doesn't know facing a future we would never wish on our children.
So flame away. But at least have the moral fiber to explain in what moral universe this boy deserves this mess. If you can answer by 8:30 PM tonight, I would appreciate it. You see, that is when he is calling our home from jail to find out what the lawyer told us before he refused to accept the $7,500 retainer. Well Salvador, you are Mexican, so you are screwed.
Trust me, the stolen SSN phenomenon is very real. It took my then 80-year-old retired Foreign Service Officer father over a year to straighten out a mess with the IRS, resulting from the use of his SSN by some illegal bussing tables in Brooklyn. All the income that the employer reported to the IRS for that SSN was attributed to my father, who was hit with penalties and threats for “failing to report” it on his tax return. My father happened to be very well-positioned to convince the IRS that he hadn’t been bussing tables in Brooklyn (after all, during the same period, he’d been getting visits from the feds trying to convince him to go back to work part time post-9/11, due to his still having high level security clearance, which was suddenly in huge demand), but most people would have a much tougher time fighting and winning this sort of battle.
He is not a "basically law abiding guy," he has broken the laws of our country by entering illegally and more than likely, is guilty of ID theft and document fraud if he has a driver's license and pays taxes.
You forgot to tell us how fast or how slow this dude was driving. Was he driving 20 or 120? How fast does it take to roll over in a small car?
I think deportation is a blessing in disguise.
If you think Salvador should be allowed to stay because he has gotten and education, holds down a well-paying job and pays his taxes, what do you think about the American citizen who does none of those things? Should a ne’re-do-well layabout who refuses to hold a job, lives on the dole, drops out of school and pays no taxes whatsoever be permitted to stay in this country? Or should we deport him to Mexico? If not, why not?
The Layabout does nothing useful. He has certainly done nothing to deserve the blessings of US citizenship. The fact that he is a citizen is an accident of birth. Why should he be permitted to stay while Salvador must go?
He is a citizen and Salvador is not. That is why.
If we actually got the border under control I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to a program like that. However, my comment really was only intended to say that I wouldn’t morally blame them for coming. I would still enforce the law but I wouldn’t hate them for what they have done.
If, right now, I had no money, I would not make my children steal food, thus making criminals out of my own children.
You do what you can, in the best interest of your children. I personally do not believe that making them vulnerable to criminal charges, as well as making them live in the shadows, is in the best interest of any child.
Also, as a parent, it is your job to set a good example for your children so they grow up to be good human beings. This kid knows he is an illegal, he lies, he falsifies documents, and uses fake socials, knowingly. How do any of those things make him a "good kid"? And look what he has learned from his parents.
Well find out. The solution to your problem is obvious.
LOL
I was wondering if we could auction off his vanity and raise some moving funds.
Fair enough.
First off, your story is at best a bit confused. Are you sure you're getting the whole story from your informant? IE, though I think it would be a good idea if we deported illegal alian misdeanants, this is the first I've heard of it. Are you sure there was no more serious law violation than those you describe? One might wonder about a) possible alcohol involvment in the "accident" b) use of a fake ID (no, you can't get a Florida License without evidence that you are in the state legally (see here: http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/ddl/faqkeys.html#NUSC ) c) the real nature of the warrant (charges, dates, actual disposition etc.)
But I digress. You asked about that moral universe thing. 1. It's not moral to deprive a developing country (eg Mexico) of its most energetic and talented young people. 2. Being required to go live in Mexico is not a punishment. It's a beautiful country, with a rich and vibrant culture. Many people even spend their own hard earned money to go visit Mexico, and find it an entirely agreeable place. 3. Every country, including the USA, and, for that matter, Mexico, have the sovereign right, and responsibility, to establish, and enforce their own immigration policies. There are legal mechanism for people to follow who wish to immigrate or take up permanent residency, and allowing some to skip to the front of the line unfairly punishes those who obey the law. There are many more reasons, but those should suffice.
Why is this SOB story any different from the thousands and thousands that have already been written by the MSM, Ethnic hustlers and Globalist politicians? If this story is worthy of being anointed and given the golden ring then I can find you a thousand and in realty millions of stories that will tug at your heart and hope to push all reason out of the way. There are hundreds of millions of “worthy” people in the world. This is a tack that is as old as socialism itself.
Unfortunately, if I am allowed to keep the people I like, and you are allowed to keep the people you like, there are a lot of people, we'll call the "Democrats", who want to keep a whole lot of people neither of us would like.
So what do we do about that?
Work the system. If Salvador gets deported, either help him with his new life in Mexico or help him get back into the country legally. These things happen. Help Salvador adapt to his new situation.
Money's kinda' tight for me at the moment, but I'll chip in if you promise to leave with him.
No, Bill. That's just it. He's not American.
The word "American" means something. It means that a person was legally born in the USA, and is thus a citizen, or legally immigrated and became a naturalized citizen later.
What it doesn't mean is "speaks English without an accent". That describes millions of people around the world, and none of them are Americans either.
There is a legal pathway for Salvador to become an American. He should demonstrate his commitment to the country and its laws by following that path.
In addition to all that, a single example of a good, upstanding (but still illegal) alien doesn't really have anything to do with the larger issue. You can find individual examples of literally anything you can imagine.
National policy and federal law apply to the Big Picture. In some individual cases, it may not seem to fit very well. But the law can't be custom tailored to every individual case.
In the Big Picture, as a matter of national policy and impact, illegal aliens are a big problem. Salvador is most definitely the exception, not the typical illegal. As frustrating as it is, he should get in line and immigrate legally. I'll be happy to shake his and and warmly welcome him to the USA when he does so.
The town government is cowed, because they know no help will come!! Now, the local school system is happy. They get lots of money from the state now to hire ESL teachers. Forget about all those science and math teachers...
My heart is more bitter against GWBush than it ever was against Bill Clinton! I knew BC for what he was. But Bush made a fool of me on behalf of his beloved Nanny.
All because Bar was too lazy to do her own housework. The whole country has to be bow down because bush wants to get all sentimental about his family servants.
Not all of the illegals are "nice". This illegal acted nice too but this illegal killed and raped a woman jogging in a suburban park. This had never happened in this neighborhood before. Many of the most wanted on this site are illegals:
Grisly Discovery Overview Edmundo Cerda-Anima is wanted for murdering Sandra Adams.
Around 6 a.m. the next day, police were called to a gravel construction road less than a mile from the park -- and Sandra's case was reclassified from a missing person case to a homicide.
Her lifeless body was lying face-down in the gravel. She was nude, and an autopsy revealed that she had been sexually assaulted. The coroner's report indicates that she died of blunt force trauma from an automobile.
The question for investigators was simple -- who killed Sandra Adams?
Detectives scoured the area, interviewing potential witnesses, and this yielded a bounty of information. Based on an eyewitness description and evidence at the scene, police began searching for a white, late 90's Ford Expedition, possibly with a flat tire, as a suspect vehicle.
Soon, deputies found a white Ford Expedition matching the description of the vehicle parked at a nearby apartment complex, and police learned that the owner of the vehicle was a man named Edmundo Cerda-Anima.
I may be off base on this, but if Salvador was to enlist in the US Army, I think he would be eligable for permanent residence or perhaps even citizenship when his enlistment expires.
The Army can be a fine career for a young man who is intelligent and willing to work hard. He should consider the possibilities.
Bill...it’s clear you have a good heart....but this isnt a racism issue...this is an immigration issue...
Illegal is illegal...
The age he came over, or the time he has been here, are irrelevent to his legal status...
Sure he’s a nice kid...sure he pulls his own weight...
But he isnt here legally...
IIRC....You can sponsor him yourself...but he’ll have to take a do-over and legally immigrate...
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