This mornings New York Times has a heart wrenching story about one woman's illegal crossing into the U.S. and her voluntary eventual return home to Mexico.
"For Divided Family, Border Is Sorrowful Barrier," has it all: domestic abuse, pregnant young daughters, and longing for family members separated by a border.
As usual, for my limited mind the juxtaposition between a fluff piece; the intent of which is to grab at your heartstrings, and the reality that what is being written about is illegal just doesn't make sense to me.
I feel for this person and I feel for anyone that wants to make their lives better. But doesn't the "reporter," Mireya Navarro feel the least bit of a tug at the logical portion of her brain when she ignores the difference between legal and illegal?
I, the reader, am supposed to feel bad for Irma, which I do; but I also see the other side. When the article quotes Irma regarding her desire to return to the U.S.:
"Getting through the border, Irma noted, is not as daunting as coming up with the $2,000 she said she would need to pay for fake identification papers and a coyote to drive her through as his wife or sister. When she first crossed by car in the late 1990s, as the coyote’s “wife,” she paid only $500."I get the impression I am supposed to feel bad about this. 'My God, how can someone charge this exorbitant fee just for helping someone break the law?' It's right there in black and white or pixel by pixel, to pay for fake ID and a coyote.
Another quote (well the whole article is supposed to emote an emotional response),:
"More and more, her days here are filled with daydreaming about crossing back. A six-hour drive is all that separates her from her daughters in San Antonio. But Irma said she was stuck, with no money to pay for an illegal crossing and no prospects for a tourist visa because she did not own property, hold a full-time job or offer any evidence that she had ties to Mexico that would compel her to return after a visit.""....evidence that she had ties....to return after a visit?" You have got to be kidding me. The whole article is about her dream of returning to our country by any means. Sounds like the guidelines for a "tourist visa," are appropriate and the entire article oozes with why this is so.
"Her daughter Barbie gave birth to a second child in December. Once again, Irma missed out on welcoming a new grandchild."A second American to an illegal alien. I'm sorry, it just doesn't have the necessaries to make me truly pity her situation. So often we want government to have a heart. Government is not human and to try and make it so or expect it to be is barking up the wrong tree. Look at what government with a heart has brought us to.
We as human beings should feel for Irma and others in her situation because we are human. At the same time, since it's illegal we shouldn't condone it just because it feels good.
Lastly:
"Her brush with American life has made Irma less tolerant of the poverty, quick to find fault with her surroundings."This is something I would think most in Irma's situation feel. Where it gets real screwy is that too often the "fault" is at OUR feet, not the country of origin. To Irma and others, I would suggest taking the bull by the horns and fighting to change her home country and to leave ours alone. OLE!!!
This is a four page article so I didn't go into a lot of detail describing it. Give it a read and you'll see what I mean: "For Divided Family, Border Is Sorrowful Barrier"
More from the Coalition Against Illegal Immigration:
Christy at CommonSenseAmerica with "The American Dream"
Karl at Leaning Straight Up posts "Legal workers sue Swift for favoring illegal workers- and a few other thoughts"
Stik at stikNstein, "REAL CLEAR POLITICS ……..misses the mark….Illegal Immigrants are not Scapegoats"
From InMuscatine, "Operation Cockroach"
Morning Coffee brews up, "Going after Employers of Illegals"
From Take Back Georgia, "MCDC chapter started in Georgia"
From My Country - My View, "Yet another bleeding heart!"
From RightTruth, "A Christmas Pardon for Border Agents"
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email the coalition and let me know at what level you would like to participate.**
