Open forum: Legal immigrant followed dream of coming to America
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I have a valid reason why I’m against illegal immigrants living here. I immigrated to America alone as a 22-year-old. I left family, friends and country I grew up in. I paid my own way.


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I had a dream since I was 4-years-old to come to America. This dream was planted in my mind by a young GI who was in my country to fight World War II. Unlike others he went out of his way to tell this small girl about America and to tell me one day I would see ‘‘Miss Liberty.”
I kept this dream alive. Soon after his visit to my parents home he was shot down. It was his 30th and final flight before he was to go home to America. He went home in a coffin draped with the Stars and Stripes. He never saw his wife, his family or his new baby daughter who was born while he was away. He gave his life so I could live in freedom.

It took me 50 years to find his family and for me to at long last pay my respects as I stood beside his grave. That was 1994. He died 62 years ago this month and I never forgot his words of encouragement to come here.

I never expected a handout or got one and in 1967 I proudly became an American citizen.

Recently, I was rear-ended at 50 mph by a young man who wouldn’t speak English. He had no driver’s license or insurance. Even the owner of the car he was driving had no coverage or license to drive.

I would like to tell Kim Propeack, director of community action at Casa of Maryland (‘‘Police fear waning trust from immigrants,” March 21 article), what it means when an illegal breaks the law by not having the proper identification after causing a serious accident. The day after hitting me and sending me to the hospital, this person went to the Motor Vehicles Administration and paid his $130 traffic ticket. Now the MVA has closed the case and he’s off the hook. He didn’t have to show a valid driver’s license to pay the fine.

While illegals don’t live up to the responsibilities after injuring legal citizens, while this illegal, like so many others, walks away, I have hospital, doctor, physical therapy and surgical bills, not to mention many months of pain and suffering for something he did.

My bills are in the thousands of dollars and my insurance can’t collect from this person as he has no money and he can’t work here legally to repay my bills.

The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund can’t pay the bills as the car owner never signed up for it. So, I am left not only with all the medical upset but unable to collect. All he gets away with is a traffic ticket without facing up to his responsibilities for injuries he has caused by his own negligence.

I wonder if Casa of Maryland and Kim Propeack would like to contribute at least $10,000 to pay my bills caused by this illegal? I don’t think so. And, for the record, someone should tell Kim Propeack that with a traffic ticket comes breaking our laws and it is a privilege, not a right to drive. The person should face the consequences even when it means deportation.

N. Schell, Silver Spring
http://www.gazette.net/stories/041807/m ... 2421.shtml