Thread: Another {SOB} story: Good people shouldn't be sacrificed

Good people shouldn't be sacrificed to bad immigration policies
By Craig Wiesner and Diana Gibson
Article Launched: 04/13/2007 01:33:01 AM PDT

Most people today are somewhat squeamish about the concept of sacrificial lambs, the slaughter of innocents to appease some angry and vengeful god. After Jesus died on the cross over 2,000 years ago such things became unpalatable. But many seem all too comfortable about the idea of sending a scapegoat or two back to Mexico, especially if they don't have names or faces or stories. "Operation Return to Sender," the program initiated recently by the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), seems benign enough. Take people who are not fully in line with America's slippery immigration regulations, round up nearly 20,000 of them and exile them. Simple enough. No big deal. They weren't "legal" anyway.

Last week, Isabel Aguirre boarded a plane at about the same time as Christians observed Good Friday, remembering Jesus being crucified as a political criminal. At the same time, Jews were completing the celebration of Passover, and thinking about the ensuing 40 years of exile in the desert. Aguirre was going into exile with her four children, heading for Mexico, banned from returning to the United States for 10 years.

After having been hoodwinked by an incompetent and ultimately disbarred attorney who took $9,000 of their money to handle their immigration paperwork, the parents were arrested in an ICE raid in Palo Alto. The father was immediately deported to Mexico. The mother was given a few weeks to make plans for their children, all
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American-born U.S. citizens, who had to make the choice between being placed in foster care or going with their parents.

Let us assure you that Aguirre and Pedro Ramirez have names and faces and stories. And so do their children. Pedro Jr., 15, has dreams and aspirations for his future in the United States. Adrian, 12, likes to cook dinner for his family, with pasta and enchiladas as his specialties. Yadira, 10, is really good at playing football. Adriana, 6, likes pizza and has a stuffed dog she carries with her. The home where Adriana was raised had many stuffed animals, toys and drawings perched on shelves along the walls, displaying the love and joy with which all children should be raised. Isabel and Pedro had spent nearly 20 years living, working, paying taxes and raising four beautiful children.

Faith leaders in Palo Alto scrambled to save the Ramirez-Aguirre family from being banished to Mexico. Knowing the family, we could not let them be scapegoats of our system. Knowing the family, we realized that we, too, would work hard, take risks and travel far to give our own children good living conditions, good medical care, good schooling. Knowing the family, we saw, as would anyone with a heart, that something is deeply wrong with an immigration policy that is enforced like ICE. Knowing the family, we were shocked at what our nation has come to. Surely if people knew, as we did, they would cry out for compassion.

But despite the names and ages and stories and photos in the media, despite the pleas for mercy from Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and community leaders, a crowd gathered around today's version of Pilate's court - the press and Internet - and jeered loudly that the family be exiled. "Pedro's daddy is at fault for breaking the law." "Let me get my hanky out." "I refuse to be the dumping ground of the world's problems." "If the individual is illegal, they should enforce our laws and turn over the individual to Immigration authorities." These were the messages posted at YouTube.com and sent to the Mercury News when stories about this family were posted. There were also threatening phone calls to the family's home.

While we can understand the honest need to vigorously debate immigration, where is our compassion? Why such hatred? What have people like Ramirez done, other than earning the love and respect of the people he managed and the appreciation of customers he served as a manager at local grocery stores, to cause people to take even a moment of their precious time to post and write mean-spirited messages, or make hateful phone calls? Next time we wonder "why they hate us" we might look at how we treat the sojourners in our midst.

The time has come for our community and nation to address the injustice of our immigration policies. President Bush has just announced his proposal. Whatever you think, we urge you to review your opinions in light of the story of one family - with your heart open and your humanity in place. These are not scapegoats or statistics; these are human beings like you and me. We invite you to join us as we engage with our elected leaders to end the scapegoating, end the sacrifice and begin a new season together as people who recognize that neither sacrificial lambs nor scapegoats are acceptable in the 21st century. Let us make it the century of the human heart.

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_5 ... ck_check=1

Dear Evangal, That sounds more like a problem for the bar association. The lawayer that took their $9000 should have to give back the money. Four kids ....wow. Ga has a problem trying to pay for Health Care for children of the state. Do you think my taxes should have to pay for illegals? Atlanta police arrested gang members from CA here that maybe deported back to Mexico....more illegals. For every hard working good illegal we get 8 that are not...and I do not like those odds. Do You?

Welcome to ALIPAC kingston. Articles that are posted on this site are not necessarily the view of the poster. All articles for and against illegal immigration are posted for debate among members of ALIPAC.

Good people shouldn't be sacraficed to bad immigration policy?

Are you flipping kidding me?

You can take the story title and write and entirely different article.
One that tells about Americans displaced from jobs by illegals that flood the market and depress the wages. Is that a sacrifice? YES.

You can write a story about the Cities so wrought with terror of gangs like the MS-13 that there are entire areas where good decent Americans can no longer safely go...Is that a Sacrifice? YES.

You can talk about the identities of Americans that have been stolen and used to obtain social services and privileges afforded to tax paying AMERICANS, thus breaking the back of the American tax payer.
Is that a sacrafice? Yes.

You can talk about the loss of American lives, men women and children slaughtered by gang violence, drug death, rape and murder, drunk driving deaths. Is that a sacrafice? Yes.

So yes, this illegal invasion is causing a lot of sacrafice.

You are being used by the politicians in this country that have so failed the American people, that they need to build a new base. You are enslaving yourselves. You are letting them enslave you. Do you think they care about your rights? Do you think they care about your well being?

Ask youself this....Did they care about the American voters? How did they repay the Americans who voted them in to office and supported thier efforts with taxes?
Why do you think you will somehow be different?

The American people are on a mission to clean up our Presidency, Congress and Senate. We have a big job to do. But we will get it done.
We will find and elect people that will put our interests first.
You might as well get used to the idea now.
The free ride is over.
Go home and fix your country. And leave me and mine here to fix ours.

ProudAmericanFamily wrote:

The American people are on a mission to clean up our Presidency, Congress and Senate. We have a big job to do. But we will get it done.
We will find and elect people that will put our interests first.
You might as well get used to the idea now.
The free ride is over.

Well said Proud!

I would suggest that the writers of this article that are asking "where is our humanity"and telling us to "have a heart",that they should have compassion for illegals themselves by inviting 25 or 30 of them into their homes until they are assimilated.That should cure them of their compassionate beliefs that those who ignore our laws make good citizens.

How about a little compassion for American citizens that have to compete with illegals for jobs when those illegals are willing to work for cheaper wages and usually without having to pay taxes.on those ill-gotten wages?How about a little compassion for those citizens that have lost jobs due to outsourcing to foreign shores?How about a little compassion for our taxes going to pay for illegals to have their children here to become anchor babies?I could go on and on but you get the picture.

Asking us to" have a heart" when our hearts are burdoned with anywhere from 12 to 35 million illegals invading our country is,pray tell,a little much me thinks.

Knowing the family, we saw, as would anyone with a heart, that something is deeply wrong with an immigration policy that is enforced like ICE. Knowing the family, we were shocked at what our nation has come to. Surely if people knew, as we did, they would cry out for compassion.

I think they mean something is deeply wrong with an immigration policy that is enforced........period! The bottom line is that they just don't want it enforced at all.

The sacrifices being made are by the Americans. We are done being tolerant of lies, theft, and stabs in the back. I guess we are supposted to feel guilty and start apoligizing again....

While we can understand the honest need to vigorously debate immigration, where is our compassion?

"Where is our compassion" you have the nerve to ask the American people that, The very people who give more aid to every country in the world, the most giving people on the planet earth, the very people who let more people come into their country on Visa's than any other country in the world!!

You have the nerve to call us an uncompassionate people because we see a need to control our immigration, our population, enforce our laws, save our nation from the chaos that is going on.

You expect us to pick and choose who deserves to be here in our country more than the other, this is not the selective service, the same laws are for everyone and they have to be enforced the same for everyone, crossing our border any where other than a port of entry is illegal. period, and it is the same for anyone and everyone!!So get over it!