Thread: New York Times supports illegal activity, identity theft

New York Times supports illegal activity, identity theft

The New York Times editorial board continues to hit new lows, this time offering "The Shame of Postville, Iowa" ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/opini ... ref=slogin ) about the May immigration raid at Agriprocessors meat packing plant in that town.

Under the old way of doing things, the workers, nearly all Guatemalans, would have been simply and swiftly deported. But in a twist of Dickensian cruelty, more than 260 were charged as serious criminals for using false Social Security numbers or residency papers, and most were sentenced to five months in prison... No one is denying that the workers were on the wrong side of the law. But there is a profound difference between stealing people's identities to rob them of money and property, and using false papers to merely get a job. It is a distinction that the Bush administration, goaded by immigration extremists, has willfully ignored. Deporting unauthorized workers is one thing; sending desperate breadwinners to prison, and their families deeper into poverty, is another.

One wonders exactly what sort of sentence an American citizen would get for the same crime, and the NYT would probably support that citizen being prosecuted instead of making lame excuses. And, one wonders whether the NYT has any sympathy for those U.S. citizens and legal immigrants whose lives were affected by their identities being stolen. While the law occasionally makes distinctions, the New York Times thinks those who engage in identity theft should just be let free, just as long as they're foreign citizens.

The NYT also links to a PDF essay by Erik Camayd-Freixas, a professor of Spanish at Florida International University who's also a federal interpreter and worked in that capacity in Postville. I only scanned the first part, and nothing I saw in that part was anything but an extremely biased screed that, among other things, referred to the ad hoc detention center as a "concentration camp".

And, his and the NYT's prescription is horribly wrong: the U.S. can't serve as a safety valve for every failed country in the world. Those countries' people have to take charge of their own fates. The standard leftwing response is to lay all the blame on the U.S. and justify illegal immigration that way. In other words, the left's policy prescription is to make things worse for all concerned and not really solve the problem.
http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/007819.html

It just amazes me how people justify these illegals breaking our laws.

Articles like this explain why newspaper readership is way down.

Why would I want to pay for a reporter's or writer's opinion when I can write my own?

It used to be that newspapers REPORTED the news, now they just tell us their opinions. Who CARES what they think?!?!? I want FACTS, not fantasy!

Just stick to the facts and leave out the fluff. Thank God for the internet!

SO they're on my side if I rob a bank in a nonviolent way( and do so in a kind manner, polite to the teller) so i can feed my family?

i cannot believe what i am reading - stealing someones identity is to steal their future - it is worse than robbing them in broad daylight - what is going on at the NYT?

Eventually, the NY Times readership will be whittled down to one...
Him:

Zeezil, please, I just ate!

No one is denying that the workers were on the wrong side of the law. But there is a profound difference between stealing people's identities to rob them of money and property, and using false papers to merely get a job.

What is "the profound difference"? Stealing one's identity is worse than robbing them. The illegal alien is stealing THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THAT PERSON. The heartache, trouble, anxiety, and the huge amount of problems waiting in lines and on telephones for solutions that the victim goes through to get their accounts and Social Security straightened out is incredible.

Published: July 13, 2008
Anyone who has doubts that this country is abusing and terrorizing undocumented immigrant workers should read an essay by Erik Camayd-Freixas, a professor and Spanish-language court interpreter who witnessed the aftermath of a huge immigration workplace raid at a meatpacking plant in Iowa.

The essay chillingly describes what Dr. Camayd-Freixas saw and heard as he translated for some of the nearly 400 undocumented workers who were seized by federal agents at the Agriprocessors kosher plant in Postville in May.

Under the old way of doing things, the workers, nearly all Guatemalans, would have been simply and swiftly deported. But in a twist of Dickensian cruelty, more than 260 were charged as serious criminals for using false Social Security numbers or residency papers, and most were sentenced to five months in prison.

What is worse, Dr. Camayd-Freixas wrote, is that the system was clearly rigged for the wholesale imposition of mass guilt. He said the court-appointed lawyers had little time in the raids’ hectic aftermath to meet with the workers, many of whom ended up waiving their rights and seemed not to understand the complicated charges against them.

Dr. Camayd-Freixas’s essay describes “the saddest procession I have ever witnessed, which the public would never seeâ€

No one is denying that the workers were on the wrong side of the law. But there is a profound difference between stealing people's identities to rob them of money and property, and using false papers to merely get a job. It is a distinction that the Bush administration, goaded by immigration extremists, has willfully ignored. Deporting unauthorized workers is one thing; sending desperate breadwinners to prison, and their families deeper into poverty, is another.

But intent isn't measured so much because people lie. Actions speak louder than words. Don't you think there are people who made mistakes, had a bad financial period in their life, lousy family or something else, wouldn't want a new identity to have a fresh start instead of having the mistakes of their past follow them for their life? I mean your credit follows you for a good 10 years. Effects your ability to get a loan, car insurance prices, a job. They do hair analysis now in some jobs to where they know if you had a past drug or alcohol problem....they can trace your health to know whether you are a risk to hire. The only clean slate we have is at birth and everything else is out there for anyone to know. If our own citizens are held to these standards.....why is it right or fair to give them a clean slate and a fresh start when we never get one? We have no clue who these people are....and stealing an identity isn't a promising start no matter what the excuse....the fact they came illegally and most never even tried legally, speaks volumes as well.

There was a citizen who did steal an identity because of a childhood mistake and his inability to get a job. Cleaned his life up steller for decades. They caught him with this no-match SS policy and threw the book at him. No mercy for him at all and he had a family to support and everything as well......good man...whole 9 yards.

I just don't agree with these dual standards. If it doesn't matter....then make it not matter for everyone else. If a drivers license is no big deal....fine then make it no big deal. If insurance is optional....fine, make it that way for everyone.