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Illegal is a status, not an ethnic group, not a nation, not a gang.
It's a status that is placed on a great variety of people. They are constantly talked about as one big group invading the nation in a concerted effort do destroy "us". Illegal is used to define their character, their righteousness, their worth.
But they are all individuals. No two people are a like. Undocumented immigrants come from many countries, the most of course from Mexico. Not due to the culture or character of the Mexican people, but because of a shared border and history of the United States welcoming Mexican labor(when the US needed it, then kicking them out when they were done working).
You can't make a sweeping generalization of people based on a status. Here are some stories of illegals who deviated from the Lou Dobbs/Tancredo script.
In the dangerous and infamous town of Fallujah, Peralta was leading his platoon in the unnerving job of clearing the enemy, house to house.
He led the way kicking down doors. On the third door he kicked down, he was immediately hit in the face and chest by small-arms fire. Barely conscious, he rolled out of the way, so his fellow Marines could go on. Then, an enemy threw a grenade toward the Marines. Just before the grenade detonated, Peralta threw his body on it absorbing the blast saving his comrades.
Rafael Peralta was born in Mexico City but was raised in Tijuana. When he was older, he was sent to San Diego by his parents, crossing the border illegally to attend high school. As soon as he got his green card, Peralta joined the Marines where he served proudly, and eventually died for his adopted country.
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According to accounts, Peralta served the United States with enthusiasm and patriotism: "In his parent's home, on his bedroom walls hung only three items - a copy of the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and his boot camp graduation certificate. Before he set out for Fallujah, he wrote to his 14-year old brother, 'be proud of me, bro...and be proud of being an American.'"
Jose Gutierrez
Before he was four years old, Jose lost both his parents to health problems in their poor barrio in Guatemala City. He lived on the streets for years before making it to Casa Alianza, a charity shelter for homeless children. His hunger, lonliness, and hopeless situation had him inhaling toxic shoe glue just to get away.
When he was 14, Jose decided to make his way to the United States, riding along trains and hitchhiking through Mexico toward the border. It took him a month to make it near Tijuana. He was detained, but because of a rule at the time, as a Guatemalan minor arriving alone, he wasn't deported, but turned over to foster care. Under the foster care of a legal resident from Ecuador and his wife, Jose learned English and finished high school. At the age of 18, he was rewarded with permanent U.S. residency.
His goal was to become an architect, and make enough money to bring over his only surviving sister from Guatemala. But he put those aspirations on hold to serve his new country in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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"He wanted to give the United States what the United States gave to him. He came with nothing. This country gave him everything," his foster sister said.
Jose ended up being one of the first U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Iraq. He was killed in a firefight in the assault of Umm Qasr.
He was posthumously awared U.S. citizenship.
There are other stories like this. This isn't justification for illegal immigration, but just something to consider in your own views of illegal immigrants themselves.
When you see a brown Spanish-speaking person, don't automatically think illegal, rapist, killer, invader, etc.
You could be looking at a determined person, a good person, like the people above.
People like the two above are not invaders, and they're not aliens. They were illegal IMMIGRANTS.
When they served in our military they were NOT illegal aliens. Furthermore, I don’t recall anyone stating that ALL illegal aliens are violent criminals. I appreciate the sacrifices they made for this country, but it does not change my stance on illegal immigration. May they rest in peace.
When they served in our military they were NOT illegal aliens. Furthermore, I don’t recall anyone stating that ALL illegal aliens are violent criminals. I appreciate the sacrifices they made for this country, but it does not change my stance on illegal immigration. May they rest in peace.
They came to this country as illegal aliens. And in case you missed when I said that this isn't to change opinions on illegal immigration, it's to change the view of illegal aliens themselves. You can't talk about illegal aliens like they are an ethnicity, gang, or nation. They are people.
Location: Where laws can be ignored due to political correctness
1,111 posts, read 1,851,770 times
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Originally Posted by Benicar
When they served in our military they were NOT illegal aliens. Furthermore, I don’t recall anyone stating that ALL illegal aliens are violent criminals. I appreciate the sacrifices they made for this country, but it does not change my stance on illegal immigration. May they rest in peace.
Of course illegals are people - some who are quite kind and good and others who are the scum of the Earth. No one disputes that. In fact, here is an example of this. Its a story involving an immigrant family - here legally, originally from Mexico and a man that was a friend of a friend back in Mexico who was here illegally.
The family let the illegal stay in their home for a few weeks in order to save money. He did. Then he came back and raped, sodomized and murdered their three year old dd while the rest of the family slept.
The moral of this story is this -- immigrants are individuals, some good some bad. Most immigrants are good - but when Illegal immigrants come into this country we have no way to verify who they are and what their intentions are. This man Camacho, does he have a record in Mexico? Did he rape another little girl there and that is why he crossed the border? Because if one thing is known about pedophiles it is that they never have just 'one' victim. Yet we are asked to believe that this is rare, never happens, all illegals are here to work and assimilate into the american dream. Bull****e. Some are escaping not poverty, but justice. Because our politicians refuse to allow the border patrol from effectively maintaining the border this piece of filth walked through and was able to rape and murder a three year old while her legal immigrant parents slept in the next room.
There is a lesson to be learned from this, if you could see past the disturbing trend of placing more importance on ethnocentrism then patriotism or even just plain good citizenship.
Squires said the family had provided a temporary place for Camacho, who was acquainted with their family in Mexico.
"It was the Christian thing," she said of the couple, who are Jehovah's Witnesses. "They allowed him to stay two weeks on their couch, so he could save up money."
She added that the couple's parting with Camacho was amicable, and that they had "no clue" that he might pose a danger to their children. Omaha.com Metro/Region Section
They came to this country as illegal aliens. And in case you missed when I said that this isn't to change opinions on illegal immigration, it's to change the view of illegal aliens themselves. You can't talk about illegal aliens like they are an ethnicity, gang, or nation. They are people.
For every one like this fella we can give you 100,000 that are on the other end of the spectrum.
Scum that we don't respect as people, UNTIL they toss themselves on grenades to die for our country.
He had a green card, show me ONE ILLEGAL standing in the WIC line ready to land on a grenade.
Just one.
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