i never blog about political topics because this is a personal blog. besides, i’m not all that interested in politics anyway. this current issue over criminalizing illegal immigrants coming into or already in our country is political, yes, but also a personal topic for me. it’s been very much on my mind because it’s been all over the news.
first of all, to criminalize something that’s illegal is redundant. if something is illegal, then it’s already against the law, isn’t it? if you break the law, you’re already a criminal! a local politician i saw on the news (can’t remember her name, or it might have been Luis Gutierrez) said that illegal immigrants just want what’s available to all Americans. um, excuse me? if they’re here illegally, then they’re not American!!!
the reason this bothers me so much is because i was an immigrant–a LEGAL immigrant–and so were my parents. we arrived in this country through LEGAL means. my parents worked hard to be able to move to the United States of America, and worked just as hard to get to where they are today socio-economically.
there are many, many people in our country (we’re now naturalized American citizens) who have the same story that we do. making concessions to immigrants who arrive here illegally trivializes everything that legal immigrants have worked for, the lives we’ve made for ourselves in our adopted country. since when are shortcuts available to the American dream?
… off topic…
dropping by to greet you a happy Easter…
I feel the same way that you do. I also believe that if they want to be a part of America that they would proudly wave the American flag and not the Mexican flag. I believe in imigration, I just believe that there is a right way to do it. If you do it illegally then pay the consequences. I think of the people like your parents who worked hard to come here and be a part of America and how now the illegals want to just waltz in and have it handed to them without changing to our way of life. By this I mean that I think they should have to learn the English language and I shouldn’t have to be proficient in theirs in order to get a job. That is how it is in Arizona and other border states with Mexico. They should have to learn our constitution and speak our language enough to get by. Oh, here I have gone on a rant on your blog. This is the first time I have opened up on the matter. Sorry for such a long comment. It just touched me. Have a good day and God bless.
I wholeheartedly agree with you & have been wondering about writing a post about it too. My mom’s family is from Mexico, LEGALLY. My paternal grandmother immigrated from Germany, LEGALLY.
When my mom was little, once she started school she was no longer allowed to speak Spanish, as she was American. Both she & I are ashamed of the Mexican flag being flown during these protests & kids being encouraged to ditch school to protest.
This isn’t a race issue, it’s a LEGAL issue. You’re either here legally or you are ILLEGAL. Simple as that.
You might not blog politically, but you should more often.
You cut right to the heart of everything.
same to you, Al!
Teressa, thank you. in 2nd grade i raised my hand to answer the teacher’s question and it came out in Tagalog/Pilipino. i was incredibly humiliated. i made a vow to myself then and there that no one would ever know that i speak anything besides English. then in the 90s being bilingual suddenly became trendy.
i don’t like that more and more signs around here (like at a local Target) are in English/Spanish, not because i’m racist towards Hispanics, but because it’s unfair to other immigrants who don’t speak Spanish as a native language.
however, i’m with you–if people want to immigrate to the U.S., then they should learn our language and culture. that doesn’t mean they should forget their own languages or cultural practices, of course. the same would be expected of Americans who immigrate to another country.
jane, when i was teaching, my Mexican-American students were very much against illegal immigration–their families came here legally, and it just isn’t fair. i would love to read what you have to say on this topic if you decide to post about it. and you’re absolutely right that this is a legal issue, not a racist one.
dan, um, you do???
I will say I agree with you… and that’s all.
I am not really educated on the subject so I don’t have much to say about it.
Exactly. Legal immigrants are welcome, illegals can just GTH out.
I am so passionate about this living in southern California having our schools and hospitals affected by this issue. I agree with you Barb and I am so glad to know the opinion of someone who immigrated legally. It’s very important for you to speak out on this issue and make sure people know how you feel being a legal immigrant. I am so glad you posted on this, Barb. I really am.
I agree. I especially agree with the statement about criminalizing something that is already illegal. To me this is similar to the idea floating around here in Illinois about a new law to ban assault weapons. I am NOT a gun nut. I don’t know one and never will, but it seems that it is already legal here in Chicago to own them. Just one person dying because of them is tragic, but can’t we use the laws already in the books to get the people who committed these horrendous crimes? It seems the last thing we need is more laws.
i’m so relieved to know that there are others out there who feel the same as i do.