| An
article by Newsweek correspondent Joseph Conteras (with Monica
Campbell), entitled Stepping
Over The Line, tells of an illegal alien in Mexico.
José Moisés, a Central American Hispanic male from
Guatamela, hides in Mexico by day and travels by night, looking for
under-the-radar work as a mechanic – or perhaps he simply tries to
survive even without finding employment. His moonlit lifestyle
was created by necessity. You see, José needs to steer
clear of the Mexican policia, not simply to keep from being detained or
deported, but because his run-ins with them have been both painful and
costly; José Moisés has been robbed and abused – by the
Mexican police, themselves. But José Moisés isn’t the only one to be greeted or treated this way in Mexico. I’m not talking about one single dosser like this nocturnal mechanic. Tales abound of rampant physical abuse, extortion, imprisonment without benefit of either court proceedings or legal representation, and even murder. Mexico is a country built upon conjoining contradiction, with protests in favor of their northern neighbor practicing brotherly love and acceptance, while they actively abuse and imprison their own “undocumented” visitors from across their southern border, as well as their own citizens. While the migrants in the United States claim to take the jobs we don’t want, at heartbreakingly low wages, and that they may live cramped by the dozen in tiny apartments, Mexico’s illegal immigrants often work for $3.50 per day while the plantation owners subtract rent from their earnings, although the coffee bean field workers live in lean-tos and shacks and tents without any utilities. Mexico’s President, Vicente Fox, and millions of Mexican citizens, both in Mexico and in the USA, fight for the non-existent rights of nearly twelve million Mexican citizens to be granted blanket amnesty from their crimes, and to further be rewarded with U.S. citizenship. They demand not only the rights of citizens of the United States, but they insist that this privilege be bestowed upon them without any annoying paperwork, background checks, fingerprinting, or even simple verifiable identification that all other immigrants seeking naturalization have been required to provide. And while Mexicans issue these demands and stage their protests, Mexico’s government has extended this exact same benefit – legal citizenship – to only fifteen thousand undocumented people. Fifteen thousand, compared with twelve million… Mexico lambastes the U.S. government for labeling Mexican law-breakers as “criminals,” and for labeling Mexicans who are in the United States by other than legal means as “illegal.” They claim the U.S. is guilty of dehumanization when the “undocumented” Mexicans are referred to as illegal immigrants and criminals, yet those who enter Mexico in the exact same manner are immediately recognized as being illegal, are treated as criminals, and may spend two years in Mexican federal prison – even when the act of illegally entering Mexico is the only crime committed. While Mexicans hiss and boo the U.S. president for planning to send 6,000 troops to defend the southern U.S. border, in 2001 they praised the Mexican president when he deployed thousands of his troops to protect the southern Mexican border. When Mexicans travel by night across the southern border of the United States, they often arrive with bricks and rocks in hand, and those so armed physically attack any U.S. official who attempts to stop the illegal activities. Let me iterate: They often cross the U.S. border attacking U.S. citizens. [MSNBC News] Yet, when those being attacked attempt to defend themselves, the Mexican government demands an investigation. [Los Angeles Times] [10-News] [Fox 6 News] President Fox then issues a statement telling the United States that the toll in human life is too costly for the United States to continue defending its borders against criminals. Mexicans in Mexico protest at the U.S. Embassy, without fear of retaliation, yet foreigners protesting anything in Mexico run the risk of being charged with a Felony. What is the United States to do? Shall we blindly acquiesce to the desires of people who have no right to even be here? Shall we comply like beaten children to the demands of those who break our laws and then tell us our laws must be changed so that their illegal activities will no longer be illegal? Are the marks of “forward-thinking” and “understanding” so coveted by us that we’re willing to prove ourselves by denying what’s best for our country and her rightful citizens? The United States immigration laws weren’t enacted on a whim. They were set in place in the name of self-protection, and the needs that necessitated the enacting of those laws have not changed. It’s still the case that the United States can open its doors to only so many foreigners. There are still people trying to travel to the USA who shouldn’t be traveling anywhere because they have untreated communicable diseases. There are still extremists who will cross any U.S. border available for the sole purpose of setting off bombs and crashing planes into buildings. There are still criminals in dozens of other countries around the world who would love to lose themselves in heavily populated cities like Dallas and Chicago. Mexican drug syndicates still send $7 billion worth of narcotics to the United States to kill our youth. The Mexican Mafia still sends hit men to the United States to murder our law enforcement officers. There are still hopefuls who consider America to be the land of self-effacing liberals leaders who will give anything to be considered forward thinking and progressive, even at their own expense and at the expense of those the leaders swore to protect. And there are still people who want what we have, and will do anything to get it, including using our own “it’s society’s fault” laws against us. If you see someone in a hole and want to help him out, firmly plant your own feet on top, and then throw him a rope. Don’t jump in the hole with him. If you have the desire to pass by a million people in a million holes, in order to help someone a million miles away, I wish you well, but don’t assume that everyone else is obligated to join you. We have enough people right here who need help. By helping those close by, we serve to plant our own feet a little more firmly on top. And lastly, if you throw a rope to 12 million people, don’t scream for me to help pull when they drag you into the hole with them. ©
2006 Bet Cloven
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