Thread: Immigration, Christmas, etc. (Opinion)

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Posted on 12-22-2005
In Other NewsMore immigration, Christmas, etc.

Santa made an early stop at Lowell Elementary School’s CasaStart program last week.
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by Melissa Lou

Christmas is a time for family, but this year all is not well in our country, as our nation seems to be under attack by forces that would destroy exactly what they strive to preserve. I am talking about anti-immigration laws and prospective laws being discussed that take away the birthright to citizenship and attack the foundations of our country.


The very thought that being born in America gives one the right to proclaim oneself American – not British – was, I believe, part of the founding of our nation. It is amazing to me to think that, given my scholarly studies as a Middle Eastern major in college and, consequently, the books I checked out at the library for those courses, I might be on a list. Given the amount of travel I do, I might be on a list. Yet, I am the daughter of a second-generation Department of Defense lifer. I am an ex-Air Force cadet with an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force and my boyfriend is a former Marine who served in the Middle East and almost gave his life for this country.


It makes me wonder who exactly is fighting this war on the front lines, while their families are here, being confronted by another war in the home front. It is our boyfriends, girlfriends, brothers, sisters – our kids – who are going out there in the Marine Corps, Navy, Army and Air Force.


So this Christmas, I send my prayers to our readers and to our “boys and girls� out there, fighting for the American ideal and for their families here. I hope they all come back safe and that, when they return, they find the America they have proudly said they are willing to fight for and possibly die for.


• On a happier note – Last week children from the Youth Service Project and the CasaStart Program in Humboldt Park got an early visit from Santa who delivered an “Extra� present for them this holiday. Pictured are some of the kids who received gifts, ate pizza and enjoyed a merry party with some of our staff members. The whole group is pictured in the inside cover to our Christmas special section.


• Anti-Immigration – According to the National Council of La Raza, last week, House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee passed the “Border and Immigration Enforcement Act of 2005� (H.R. 4437). The bill, which now hits the House floor for debate, is a comprehensive immigration reform that could, said Cong. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) in a national radio broadcast this past weekend, “actually make it possible for a U.S. citizen who has a spouse, mother, or father who is undocumented to be convicted of a crime.� The bill, would, among other things, make it more difficult for legal immigrants to become U.S. citizens and place religious groups, employers, and even private citizens at risk of criminal prosecution as “smugglers� if they aid or transport an undocumented immigrant. It would also classify all 11 million undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. as “aggravated felons,� subjecting them to deportation and imprisonment. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) all oppose this bill.


• Also in Congress – Also being discussed this week are a bill that proposes to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and one that would eliminate automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S., if their parents are not U.S. citizens. Call your local congressman and voice your opinion on this bill. Call (202) 224-3121 to get the switchboard for Congress and give them your zip code.

TSK! TSK!!

IS it not STRANGE that they can talk about SMUGGLING in ILLEGALS and RELIGIOUS GROUPS in the same breath???? Is this not a little contradictory??