Immigrants are not criminals
1/12/2008 7:13:07 AM
I wonder if what recently happened to my friend is an example of Gov. Pawlenty's call for enforcement of immigration law.

My friend is the mother of two girls, a 7-month-old and a 5-year-old. The immigration police took her away in the night in her pajamas, leaving her children crying and her husband devastated.

I know this illegal immigrant. She is a role model for others. She is a full-time student, trying to learn English so she can be a productive member of our society. Her daughters are American citizens.

I am ashamed to say that I am part of a country that takes mothers from their homes in the middle of the night. This mother had the same American dream that many of our European ancestors had. She and her husband have taken those jobs that no one else wants, like my great-grandfather from Ireland did in the 1900s.

The difference is that he was rewarded for his hard work with citizenship. She is rewarded with punishment, hardship, and the end of her American dream.

Immigration reform should have taken place a long time ago. We have harmed and taken advantage of people who have only wanted a better life for themselves and their families. We have set them up to be fugitives and criminals because of our failure to right a grievous wrong.

Sharon Faunce
Rochester