Mexicans and Immigration June 30, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Immigration, dehumanization, deportation, discrimination, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, law, life, opinion, people, personal, politics, race, thoughts, undocumented student.add a comment
It really bothers me that the entire immigration debate became from against undocumented immigrants to being anti-Mexican. Everyday I see more and more the antis just going after the culture. Spanish is evil, all Mexicans are illiterate peasants, they are invading…it keeps going and going. It just shows you the hypocrisy of the entire debate, because it became racist because now the entire Latino culture is perceived as a threat.
It bothers me because, yes, undocumented immigrants do come from the border but that’s a little bit more than half. A lot of people overstay their visas. No one speaks about them, they are never mentioned in the debate. Also, if the real worries were the border, why not also build a wall in the Canadian border? That is bigger and a lot easier to get through. No, the wall is not being built over there because it is not about terrorism, it is about stopping the undocumented. A wall is like a Band-Aid solution anyways, people will still continue to come, there are such things as ladders.
Also, not all undocumented immigrants are Mexicans. I may be but that doesn’t mean EVERYONE is. The entire debate is now being said as if only Mexicans came when that is so not true.
It just bothers me, this entire debate because it is ridiculous and hypocritical on the side of the anti-immigrant forces who perceive brown people as threat.
New Haven and the Law June 30, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Immigration, civil rights, dehumanization, deportation, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, inspiration, justice, law, life, news, opinion, people, personal, politics, undocumented student, undocumented students.add a comment
I would really like to drive. Everyone who knows me probably knows this. And so, the idea of the town of New Haven is a great one. Give identity cards to people so that you know who they are and where they live. Let them live their lives and not make it a living hell. I don’t think it allows for driving, but it is better than nothing.
I’ve never understood the reasoning of the people wanting to have police have the ability to check immigration statuses. Its ridiculous. Its putting an entire community in distrust of the police and the police won’t be able to do their job which is to protect the people. Everyone, not just citizens. I’ll be putting up the rest of the article now, and here is the link for it.
The names and addresses of more than 6,000 New Haven residents who have applied for a type of identification card available to anyone, including illegal immigrants, will likely remain secret, out of fear for their safety.
Anti-illegal immigration activists had asked the city to identify the cardholders in a public records request. But as the New Haven Register reports, a Freedom of Information Commission official on Wednesday recommended against releasing the cardholders’ names.
“The ID Card program unleashed a level of vitriol and venom aimed at city officials and illegal immigrants that was far beyond mere political disagreement or healthy civic engagement,” the hearing officer’s report said, according to The Register. Among menacing e-mails the city received in the months after the card program debuted was this message: “When they show up for an ID card shoot them dead or at least deport them immediately.”
The full body of FOI officials is expected to vote on the issue on July 9, but it will likely side with the recommendation.
Dustin Gold, whose Community Watchdog Project backed the records request, told The Register the report doesn’t reflect the intentions of the state lawmakers who created the FOI safety exemption. He told the paper he would take the issue to court if he has to.
Despite the controversy, The Register described the card as a success: “It is viewed in New Haven as a public safety measure that helps incorporate the estimated 15,000 illegal immigrants into the lifeof city,” helping them set up bank accounts and access certain city services.
For the bolded words, I wish stuff like that was new but nope, it is not. Its quite sad really.
Virginia and Discrimination June 29, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Immigration, civil rights, college, courts, dehumanization, discrimination, education, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, justice, law, life, news, opinion, people, politics, school, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.add a comment
I’ll just post the entire article. This is ridiculous.
With college acceptances and deposits already mailed, this is an exciting time of year for most high school graduates. But not everyone can join the celebration. Some graduating students are unable to attend college because they have been denied in-state tuition. Why are some U.S.-born Virginia residents being denied access to college?
It’s not because of their immigration status, but because of their parents’.
One of these citizens caught up in this problem is Jamilla Penarete. Two years ago, as a senior in high school, Jamilla was accepted at George Mason University. But after registering for classes, she found out that despite the fact that she was born and raised in Virginia, she was being charged out-of- state tuition rates, three times the amount she expected to pay as a Virginia resident. Jamilla was told that because she applied as a dependent student, as most just-out-of-high-school students do, her parents’ undocumented immigration status counted against her. As a U.S. citizen, Jamilla can vote, join the Army and be called for jury duty. She pays federal and state taxes. But in her home state of Virginia, she was considered ineligible for in-state tuition.
This outcome is the result of two ill-applied legal provisions.
• First, Virginia law creates a presumption that any college student under 24 years old is their parents’ dependent. As such, it is the parents’ eligibility to establish domicile in Virginia that counts for in-state tuition purposes, not the student’s.
• Second, even though Virginia law does not say that undocumented immigrants are ineligible to establish domicile, the Virginia attorney general’s office has interpreted the law in this manner for many years.
These two factors have created a legal problem that directly affects American students, with devastating consequences.
Jamilla tried to cover tuition costs but eventually found it was too much to bear and had to stop attending school after the first year. She had to take two jobs to pay the debt she incurred during that one year, and put off returning until she can afford it. She recently filed a new application for in-state tuition with George Mason University, seeking to resume her college education this fall; the application was denied at the initial review level. Jamilla appealed, and was just recently informed by George Mason that she is being reclassified as an in-state student. She plans on attending this fall.
Jamilla’s story is not an isolated case. Another Virginia- born student was offered admission to the University of Virginia this year, with out-of-state tuition. Because this student could not afford the higher tuition rates, he thought he had no choice but to attend a community college. Fortunately for him, a memo from the Virginia attorney general’s office on this issue was released in March. This memo prompted UVa. to review his situation and grant him in-state tuition. The memo reminded colleges that under state law, it is possible for a dependent student, in extraordinary circumstances, to have a different domicile than his parents’.
The situation of these American students who have lived most of their lives in Virginia is one of those extraordinary circumstances.
What can be done to correct this injustice? The Virginia General Assembly must clarify the law to make sure that no U.S. citizen in Virginia is denied in-state tuition because of his parents’ immigration status.
Another possible solution is in the hands of the Virginia attorney general’s office. The situation started because the office has interpreted state law to justify denying in-state tuition to undocumented students. He could easily fix this problem by changing the reasoning for denying in-state tuition to undocumented students, so that U.S.-born students’ eligibility for in-state tuition would no longer be linked to their parents’ immigration status.
ICE and Racial Profiling June 29, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, ICE, Immigration, dehumanization, deportation, fear, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, law, opinion, people, personal, politics, race, racism, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.2 comments
The publicity stunts that solve anything relating to immigration, also known as the raids, are bad for Latino citizens. They are being classified as the others only because they are Hispanic. Really, I mean, if I were to be in a place that is raided, a place filled with white or black people, who is going to be asked the question, be detained, not allowed to go to the bathroom while ICE checks to see if they have the right person. Quoting the article now.
ICE’s raids foster discrimination, says Domingo Garcia, attorney for the League of United Latin American Citizens. “There’s a lot of racial profiling. … If you look like a Hispanic, you’re detained or arrested.”
He says he plans to file a class-action, civil rights lawsuit on behalf of legal workers detained in raids, including Jesus Garcia, 27, a green-card holder from Mount Pleasant, Texas. Domingo Garcia says he will ask the court to prohibit ICE from conducting raids until it changes its policies to prevent racial profiling.
ICE agents went to Jesus Garcia’s home on April 16 in conjunction with a raid on a nearby Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing plant, where he worked marinating chicken meat. Garcia, from Mexico, has been a legal permanent resident for a year and a half. When about 10 ICE agents and local sheriff’s deputies knocked on his door, they told him he was using the wrong Social Security number, says his wife, Olivia Garcia, a U.S. citizen.
Though Garcia showed the agents his green card, they handcuffed him and jailed him. He was released a day and a half later after agents told him he wasn’t the person they wanted, he says. He had spent the night in jail. “He said it was pretty bad,” Olivia says. “People were crying and screaming.”
Jesus Garcia, who has since left Pilgrim’s Pride for another job, says the mishap cost him three days of work. “I worked hard to get my residency,” he says. “And to take me to jail just over a mistake?”
ICE had a raid at a place called Micro Processor Enterprises, they captured over 138 people, over a 100 of which were citizens and legal residents. I mean, is ICE really that incompetent.
Dhopade says he was a victim of racial profiling by ICE. An ICE agent questioned him about his immigration status and his ability to speak English “because of my skin color,” he says. “None of the white folks in the office … that I know of were asked for proof of citizenship. To be asked for proof of citizenship, in this country, it’s an insult. This is the United States of America. This country does not require that.”
For those who say that passing through a raid is a minor incoveniecne, please shut up. I lived through a drug raid on my home when I was younger. I crapped my pants and the whole affair scared the shit out of my parents, and no, there weren’t any drugs, they had the wrong address. The police just violated the sanctity of my parents’ home. To a country that welcomes immigrants, if this how they are going to be treated, than please the truth instead of being hypocritical.
This entire affair of the raids is shameful because it solves nothing. Sure, the US gets rid of a couple of workers, scares its legal residents and citizens, scares them enough into suing and nothing in the entire immigration problem is solved. It is just a public show to please the most ardent nativist and it is shameful. Instead, a viable solution should be made instead of doing crap.
Quote of the Day June 28, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Mexicans, entertainment, famous people, films, ideas, inspiration, life, people, personal, quote, quote of the day, quotes, thoughts.add a comment
From Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro, the man behind Pan’s Labyrinth and the upcoming Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Here is a quote about monsters and beauty.
The Mexican director, whose latest movie “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” opens next month, said Thursday night that monsters have a inherent beauty that not enough people appreciate.
“We live in a world that’s constantly trying to tell you what (expletive) products to use to diminish your ugliness, or smelliness or the unpleasantness”, he said Thursday. “I say (expletive) them all, let us be whatever we are, let us be free in our ugliness, fatiness, stretch markings, whatever the (expletive) we are. Monsters can be that, monsters can represent something else”.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear In-State Tuition Case June 28, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Immigration, Supreme Court, civil rights, courts, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, justice, law, news, opinion, people, undocumented student, undocumented students.2 comments
Well, it pretty much looks that way. So, the question of whether a state can give or deny state in-state tuition has been left to the state governments. Some states have already given in-state tuition to students like me. No, the ‘hordes’ are not inviding said states. I think things are pretty much the same. I live in a state that doesn’t give in-state tuition and have to pay over 120,000 dollars. Well, I would pay that if I didn’t have the scholarship I have that covers everything.
The case was made by some out-of-staters who thought it was unfair for people like me to have in-state tution. I don’t think so, but then again, I’m very biased aren’t I. Why is in-state tution good though? Because it keeps kids in school and not doing drugs or dropping out. It is better to have something at the end of the road instead of nothing. And we are not arguing for in-state tuition in states where we are not from, that would be stupid. If I wanted to go…let’s say to a University in Hawaii, I would pay out of state tution. That’s a given. And I already addressed the fact that we don’t steal seats from universities, we earn them.
Here is the article for your reading pleasure.
Illegal Immigrants and Criminality June 27, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, ICE, Immigration, civil rights, dehumanization, deportation, fear, human rights, ideas, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, justice, law, life, opinion, people, personal, politics, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.2 comments
Okay, I agree with the deportation of murderers, rapists, and the like. They can go back. They are giving me a bad name. What I don’t consider right though is the deportation of immigrants who are taken away because of simple traffic violations. I don’t agree with that. I think it is unfair and counter-productive. Why alienate (no pun intended) a large group of people who could help out with crimes. Why terrorize them if they’ve done nothing wrong, except being in this country. To some, those who look at the world is in black and white terms, that act in of itself is enough to be deem them criminals for their rest of the lives, being the scum of the earth. What about people like me? People who didn’t choose to come here with by choice again. Again, the world is more complex than just right and wrong, black and white, Nintendo and Sony.
What about laws that make it illegal to knowingly transport people like me. It doesn’t make sense. What about ambulance drivers? What about school buses? What about my girlfriend and I going to the movies? She knows fully well, what I am; I wouldn’t even consider having a relationship with someone that doesn’t. Will she be taken away like the man in the following article, to 5 years of prison and a fine of up 250,000 just because we were going to the movies like a lot of people who are in a relationship? No, I would really hope not, I could never live with the fact that I ruined her life. What about laws, like the one that passed in the House a couple of years back, that made the common man into immigration agents because they needed to whistle blow on people like me. It would have made my girlfriend, some of my professors, some of my friends and mentors into criminals because I believe that they would never turn me in.
Those types of laws only serve to separate people, only serve to destroy the trust in a community that is already marginalized. Why? It is not helping any? My deportation wouldn’t discourage others. Laws like that only serve to move people away to better places that have jobs. You know why it doesn’t help, because EVERY time you read about a raid, it is always the little people that are taken away. Never the employers. They continue going and employing, just like it never happened. That is the hypocrisy of immigration, take it all out on the little guy but not the ones who are the root of the problem. Instead of making a solution that could help everyone, people blindly go and say to deport them all instead of actually thinking. It saddens me that people are making criminals out of people that are not.
The Border and White Privilege June 27, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Immigration, dehumanization, economy, famous people, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, justice, law, life, opinion, people, politics, race, racism, undocumented student, undocumented students, videos, white supremacy, youtube.6 comments
Do you think that closing the border will raise wages? You are naive.
America’s Anti-Immigrant Network June 27, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Immigration, dehumanization, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, law, life, news, opinion, people, politics, race, racism, random, undocumented student, undocumented students, videos, white supremacy, youtube.2 comments
So, this is how it all begin.
Obama is a Jedi June 26, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Jedi, McCain, Obama, Star Wars, candidates, famous people, funny, humor, laugh, life, media, opinion, people, politics, quote, quote of the day, quotes, thoughts.add a comment
When I first saw this in one of my feeds, I laughed. I’ve always been a huge Star Wars fan/nerd. I’ve seen the 6 films in a row and made my girlfriend (before she became my girlfriend, actually) watch them as well. Okay, not all of them on a row, she is not as crazy as me. I originally sent the link out to her but what the hell right, here is what George Lucas, master of all things Star Wars, said, and I quote.
“I would say that’s reasonably obvious,” he said. That is answering the question on whether Obama is a Jedi. Which begs the question, is McCain a Sith lord? He unfortunately didn’t answer the following the question, Who is President Bush more like: Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader?”
The following link is where I got the article.
Visas for Supermodels June 26, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Immigration, deportation, editorial, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, justice, law, opinion, people, politics, random, undocumented student, undocumented students.2 comments
I mean, seriously. Come on. Are these the priorities of the United States. Instead of actually tackling the problem that is plaguing millions, they do this. Where is the political will people???? This is straight from the LA Times.
Unable to muster the political will last year to pass comprehensive immigration reform and address the dearth of both unskilled and highly skilled labor that drags on our economy, Congress is now ready to act. Standing tall in the courage of their convictions, lawmakers are proposing to give supermodels their own category of work visa. This is especially bold because while easing the way for several hundred models to work during New York’s Fashion Week, they must resolutely ignore the pleas of high-tech businesses seeking more visas for well-educated workers.
The number of H1-B visas awarded each year to skilled foreign employees is 65,000 (plus 20,000 for foreign graduates of U.S. universities), despite the desperate demand. On the first day of the application period this year, H1-B visa requests exceeded 120,000. Meanwhile, the shortage of workers has inspired employers to put down roots elsewhere. Last July, Microsoft Corp. announced it would open shop in Vancouver, Canada, where U.S. immigration policies won’t hinder it from hiring the highly skilled people it needs.
Thankfully, Congress’ reform efforts don’t stop with models. Other bills in the pipeline would make it easier for athletes and entertainers to work in the United States. Our crops may go unpicked, but never again will Amy Winehouse have trouble getting a speedy visa. The key to amassing support for such legislation is to make the tough compromises necessary to ensure their minuscule social impact. Last year’s behemoth reform bill tangled with border security, guest worker programs, a pathway to citizenship — far too controversial. Now, even Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River), who sponsored a bill to deny citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants, is backing the bill giving the Department of Homeland Security 30 days to process visas for entertainers.
If, however, Congress does give — shall we call them catwalk engineers? — their own visa category, they will no longer have to compete with computer wizards for H1-Bs. That could free up to 1,000 slots for high tech. We’ll take them any way we can get them.
Presidential Nominees, No Champion for the other side June 26, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, Immigration, McCain, Obama, candidates, deportation, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, law, opinion, people, personal, politics, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.4 comments
What is are the anti-immigrant folks to do now that they have no champions for their views. What I mean is no champion of their nativist/restrictionist view of immigration of course. Both McCain and Obama have very comprehensive views of immigration, they don’t go for either of the extreme views that many people want. I myself don’t want either of them, I believe in compromise.
What happened to their champions. Duncan and Tancredo both lost without even making any impact in the primaries. For the antis, who say immigration will bring about the end of the USA, it must be sad that not a lot of people see eye to eye with their views. I mean, that would be the only reason as to why people wouldn’t vote for those two candidates who are more in line with the nativist and restrictionist views. Maybe they are not as many as they think.
This article will also detail what they are trying to do about it and frankly, it is sad. I still don’t see how making the life of people with whom they barely interact with helps them. How is hating one group productive or even healthy? I wouldn’t know, since I don’t hate anyone except perhaps Sony fanboys. I kid, I kid, but seriously, Nintendo is better guys.
Read on, from the LA Times.
Broken Hopes, Shattered Dreams June 26, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Americans, ICE, Immigration, civil rights, dehumanization, deportation, depression, human rights, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, inspiration, justice, law, life, news, opinion, people, personal, politics, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.5 comments
The following article makes a profile of Dreamers. Dreamers are people like, people who came into this country when we were young, in my case 10 years old.
Every time the Dream Act is defeated, it is followed by broken hopes and shattered dreams. Ours. The antis say that once we turn 18, it is our responsibility to go back and get in line. Go back to get in line? What line again? There is no line?
Here is a scary quote from the article, from one of the students named Javier.
“Good evening, sir,” said the man on the other end of the line. “I’d like to talk to you about opening a line of credit with our new offer from Visa in conjunction with the University of Houston. All we need is your Social Security number,”
“Oh, no thanks,” said Javier. “I don’t need a credit card right now.”
“What, don’t you have a social security number?” said the voice. “Are you a wetback? Are you scared that I’m going to turn you over to the police and you’ll get thrown outta my country? Why don’t you just go back to Mexico.”
That is the sort of thing that we have to put up with. Heartbreak, because of the fact that we have to pay for the sins of our parents.
Very soon, I know I will also have to. I’m in college now, a junior at my university. 2 years from now I’ll have to graduate and will have choices that none of my friends will have to even imagine.
Will I go on, and succumb to the stereotype. Will I go work at as dishwasher, at a Burger King, a low wage paying job even though I would have an English degree and would be qualified to teach.
Or will I have to go to back to Mexico. I’m able to speak Spanish but I haven’t been able to keep up with those skills in a way that would allow me to survive. Am I willing to go away and leave everyone I know and love behind.
I don’t know what I’ll do, I try to not to think about it, but it is harder and harder not to. I wish school would start back again, because I want to see my girlfriend and all my friends. But a part of me knows that everyday is one day less that I’ll be able to keep up the charade. The charade that I’m like them but I’m really not. A charade that takes a toll on all of us, because even if we have friends who know about our secrets, they would never understand what it feels like to live like this everyday. The burden of the secret, the burden of that our parents gave us is one that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Another student, Ricky, and I share the same views on the following matter.
“The fear of being caught and deported is there every hour of every day,” says Ricky, “but it’s something that you have to get used to so you can live your life. You have to block it out. There are constantly little reminders, like every time you see a cop drive by, and you always have to make sure you’re doing everything right, but you have to be positive somehow. I mean, it does keep you on track and focused on what you have to do, like going to school and staying in line with the law.”
It is scary the way that some of us can adapt, being able to live like this and still function. I don’t know how we do it, I don’t know how we go on. I know this much, the road we live on is one of heartbreak and I suspect that the worst is yet to come for me. But it was my choice and I took it, stand by it and will live to see it to the end.
Fears of an undocumented immigrant June 25, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Immigration, college, dehumanization, deportation, depression, fear, friends, friendship, ideas, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, life, opinion, people, personal, school, summer, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.3 comments
Some time ago, my girlfriend and I started to list my fears. She wants me to go swimming (pool or beach) and skating (ice or normal) and I’m very adamant to do so. More like terrified really. On regards to swimming, I don’t know how to swim and I’m afraid of drowning and as for skating, when I was in the sixth grade, my class took a trip to an skating rink and I feel on my ass so many times I still feel the pain.
Of course, those are not my only my fears. Some of my other fears include that of clowns, specially the one from the McDonald’s commercials. This is what happens when you watch the movie It when you are too young. Snakes are another fear of mine, but I think that’s pretty common.
My biggest public fear is the one of heights. I still remember to this day the way I felt when I feel down the damn fence when I was crossing. I felt totally helpless, out of control, just floating. All of that was followed by a whole a lot of pain. To this day, I can barely stand heights so I always try to keep my feet on the ground. Not that I can fly or get off the ground, that would be bad.
Other fears include that of ICE and deportation. This fear makes me squirm whenever a cops is near my house or dorm. I don’t drive and would be very terrified of doing so.
I have another fear. A fear I’ve had ever since I started being friends with American people, people who don’t know what I go through. Am I good enough to be their friend? I’ve always felt like an outsider. Always. To this day, I still feel like that. Feel very much alone. I’m afraid that the friendships that I value very much will be forgotten once my time is over. My time will soon be over soon, May 2010 if my predictions are correct. Will I be forgotten. I won’t forget anyone, I never do, to this day I still remember my friends from Mexico from when I was 10. I’m afraid that I’m not making a positive difference in my friends’ lives, and feel like a burden. I don’t know if I am. Maybe its all in my head.
But my biggest fear now though, it comes in nightmares. It is a terrifying thing to have it happened, and now it can happen to me. I’m afraid, and it will be my fault to some extent. A vision that keeps repeating over and over again, a vision that I will not share here or with anyone. A vision of heartbreak.
But that vision will be overtaken by something far more worse, uncertainty. Uncertainty because that is what my life is about. My days are numbered. But before then, I have some things I have to do, some things that I started working on already. If my end is to come, I’ll have it come on my own terms for as much as I can. But for now, I’ll continue living as far as I can and as well as I can. It’s about the only thing I can do now.
The Law is the law! June 25, 2008
Posted by iamashadow in Immigration, civil rights, dehumanization, deportation, history, human rights, ideas, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigrants, inspiration, justice, law, life, opinion, personal, politics, quote, quotes, thoughts, undocumented student, undocumented students.7 comments
Oh, how I hear that phrase all the time in forums, comment sections in online papers, editorials, letters to the editor and blogs. The law is the law and it should be followed. I agree, not following the law leads to anarchy and no one wants that. Now though, I believe that people should follow laws that make sense. For instance, it is wrong to commit murder or rape someone. Laws against those actions are laws everyone can agree with.
Now, immigration laws, that’s different because we live with a broken system. How is it broken? Broken enough that we have people dying at the borders and millions of people like me, living in the fringes, in the shadows. The antis think it is just easy to follow the law, but they’ve never done it, and well, they would never have to. Immigration is a mess.
But it really bothers me is the antis’s stand on the law. The thing the law is infallible. The should be followed to the letter. Well, sorry, the world doesn’t work like that, and it never actually has. We are talking about a country that was founded on the breaking of British law, which was unfair. Unfair, curious word isn’t it? Unfair is what immigration laws are now, making people risk their lives for something that America does want, the labor.
The law has never been followed to the letter, and some laws shouldn’t, as history shows us.
British law was unfair to the American colonies, America gained its independence and broke away from the motherland, breaking the law.
During the slavery era, some enlightened people took part in the Underground Railroad, breaking the law in an effort to help their fellow men. No one looks back on them as law breakers.
During the Civil Rights movement, countless laws were broken in order to bring about justice to African Americans. Once again, the law was broken.
Americans committed genocide against original population of Native Americans, they were just following the laws and their ‘rights’.
During the time of Nazi Germany, the laws were followed and it gave way to the extermination of 6 million Jews. That is an example of the law being wrong, because everything that happened in that country was legally correct but morally wrong.
I’m sure everyone who has ever driven a car has broken the law once. Everyone who has been young has broken the law or curfew once.
No one is without sin when it comes to obeying the law. And not all laws are just. Take a look at the following quote by Howard Zinn.
“Historically, the most terrible things- war, genocide, slavery- have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience.”
So, yes, the law is the law, but the law is not always right. And you have never followed the law to the letter. This is not a call for anarchy, no, but for forgiveness for something that immigrants didn’t want to do but were force to, by a broken immigration system and unjust laws.
