Thread: My Favorite Immigrant

I'm really getting annoyed by the pro-illegal folks jabs at us using the charge that we are anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican, anti every other thing which is as far from the truth as it could be.

Personally I don't care which country anyone comes from as long as they arrive legally. Thousands of people wait in line every year dreaming of making a new life in America. They come willing to meld into our society and contribute something of value while improving their own lives.

There is no prejudice in my heart towards anyone of any race, from any nation. I've been blessed to have made many friends among legal immigrants. Here are stories of two of my "legal immigrant" families.
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Ivan and Larisa came from the Ukraine with two small daughters 20 years ago. The occassion of their arrival merited a news story about how they basically only had the clothes on their back etc.. I called up the reporter asking for information how to find these people as I figured they might need help as well as some basic things like clothing.

They became dear friends, and even now we exchange cards during the holidays even though we are far distant.

Ivan took a low paying job even though he had technical schooling in the old country. Larisa did housekeeping in a hotel. The girls went to school and of course learned the language very fast. The family saved everything they could and put a down payment on a run down house within 4 years. The house was in a wonderful location by a park, but had been essentially used as an inside "kennel" by previous owners who left a horrible mess to clean up, dog droppings etc.

Ivan and family worked for two years, everyday after school or work and tore the house down to its basic structure then little by little rebuilt it.
I would visit and bring suppers when I could as they were all too busy to cook.

After the house was well underway in remodeling they redid the garden and garage. The place became the nicest home on the block. Only after 7 or 8 years of very hard work did the family take a vacation. Later on the girls started college and then university. They are all doing well and I am proud to call them my friends.
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Rosa, one of my Mexican friends, is about 70 years old. She has no accent for she came here as a child. I am not sure if she and her parents were "legal" though since that nearly 3/4 of a century long ago, I have to assume they were.

Rosa is married to a very nice "generic" American man who now speaks fairly good Spanish. He sometimes translates documents for me if Rosa isn't home. She has never had children but she spends most of her days busily helping others around her neighborhood for absolutely no charge.

Rosa will cheerfully offer to come and water your garden if you go on vacation, feed your pet, gather your mail. She visits seniors, shut-ins and others and often brings her home-made tamales (a dish I personally dislike, but I don't have the heart to tell her).

Her garden is a showplace. It is full of hummingbirds and butterflies. Her husband watches t.v. most of the time, but not Rosa. She is out feeding someone's cat or taking flowers to someone who fell ill.

What a wonderful woman !

I lost a dear friend recently to a terminal illness. She cared most about helping others. During her illness, she never lost hope that she would recover. She refused to let others feel sorry for her.

I believe she would have done great thing with her life had she not been taken so young.

It doesn't make a difference what country an illegal belongs to, they should be deported and what ever they own becomes property to be auctioned off to help repay the American taxpayers and hospitals who have support them for years.

Originally Posted by Beckyal

It doesn't make a difference what country an illegal belongs to, they should be deported and what ever they own becomes property to be auctioned off to help repay the American taxpayers and hospitals who have support them for years.

You're right Beckyal, but we've said that a thousand times.

The point of the post, although I may not have made it clear, is that most of us probably have legal immigrant friends from many countries and of many races. We should treat our legal foreign friends according to how they treat us, no better , no worse. They are people with the same faults and virtues found in us.

I'd like to see change in the media perception of our position against the invasion. We need to emphasize that we, who believe in national sovereignty, are not against immigrants. But it should be clear to them that an illegal invader is not an "immigrant". Immigrants is the name for those who arrive legally. And whether Mexican, Hindu, Russian or Chinese, it should make no difference to us. Our position on the illegal invasion issue is not based on race or national origin.

It has been a tedious and costly process to gain legal entry into America. Even though this may not be the time to increase immigration we shouldn't be hesitant to share stories of our already (legally) immigrated friends and the tribulations they had before finally arriving here . We shouldn't be hesitant to point out that we have dear immigrant friends and even relatives and show how they enrich our lives.