Should local police enforce federal immigration laws?

No

1 of 1

by Gabriella D'Anton

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THE NUMBER ONE ENEMY

In an effort to appease public opinion and provide a false sense of security for the law obeying citizens, all the attention of the Bush administration has been focused on the danger of being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants.

What better way of diverting attention from the real mess we are in (thanks to his administrations failed policies) that made the world lose respect for our moral values? The same irrational attitude sent troops to Iraq without a well-thought strategy, while painfully ignoring the possible consequences.

It is the fault of the illegal immigrants that our financial supremacy in the world was on the brink of collapse? Most probably not! It was the greed and the unscrupulous Wall Street (all American well-respected citizens).

I am an immigrant myself, (a legal one for that matter), but I still do not understand the obsession of the authorities or the narrow minded view of many people.

Sure, we are praising ourselves as being a country of laws.

What does law mean? There are laws of nature (we can't do anything about those), there are laws of God (we should respect them) and there are laws made by people (most of them imperfect and all of them made to protect the powerful).

The police cars in my city say, "to serve and protect" and that sounds good. I don't mind paying taxes if that is the case, unfortunately the resources are not being used efficiently.

In the summer of 2007, a woman whose son was born in the United States, was chased by police and escorted to the Mexican border.

Being under constant surveillance and living in fear of her life and the immediate future of her family, the woman was seeking sanctuary in a Chicago church before coming to Los Angeles to take part in a march organized to protest the treatment of illegal immigrants.

Was she being naive or was she being manipulated?

Did she really think her voice will be heard and she could change the course of history?

The scene of her capture and forced deportation was heart breaking and the absurdity of it was revolting. A defendless, poor woman was treated like a dangerous criminal. What a disgrace! According to our humanitarian and civilized laws, she was supposed to leave her son behind and go the hell back where she came from.

This story reminds me of another tragedy that happened a few years ago.

It was about a Cuban boy that escaped the communist regime of Fidel Castro putting his life in jeopardy. His mother died in the cold waters of the Atlantic trying desperately to offer her son a better life and a brighter future. The young boy came to the Florida shores and was embraced by a loving family he did not know.

His tragedy became a saga played over and over by the media always hungry for sensational events. Elian's father came to pick him up and to return him to Cuba. A national war that divided the country was paraded for weeks in front of our eyes; a "Dreyfus Affair" of modern times inflamed the country.

The Florida family took the little Gonzales boy all the way to Washington asking for congressional protection despite the fact that they never had any contact with their relatives back in Cuba and despite the fact that the father was the only living parent.

America loves high drama and sensational stories. Cuba as well will not shy away from a sensational tale. In both cases a propaganda point was meant to be made.

When less propaganda is involved, but just as much human drama, our sense of justice is less alert and our focus is more on the legality of the matter, while moral consequences are being ignored.

Was the woman recently deported, the number one enemy of this great country? Was she a beggar, a known prostitute or a drug dealer? Was she in any way involved in the senseless attack of the Twin Towers?

None of the above, but her crime was nevertheless unpardonable. In the eyes of the law she entered the country without permission and she "abused" the system.

As far as the authorities were concerned, she broke the law and she deserved to be punished. She should serve as an example for others. Her personal tragedy and that of an abandoned son should not make us lose any sleep. We are a country of laws! Remember?

By having her deported, we as a nation "have been saved". We proved to the world that we are perfectly capable of taking care of our land and most efficient at enforcing our laws.

We are, after all, a great country.

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