Wednesday, September 27, 2006

... and I quote "Boo Freaking Hoo"

The Washington Post has an article up today about how states and counties are starting to enforce immigration laws. As per usual, the reporter supplies a "sympathetic" person for the story, the poor illegal immigrant caught up in this vicious and racist program. This is the best they can do?

Among those snared earlier this month was Guadalupe Lara, an 18-year-old Mexican carpenter.

The fifth of eight children born to farmworkers in Queretaro, he walked across the border when he was 16 to find work. Two years later, he has only a wispy beard and stands 5-foot-3.

He makes $7.50 an hour and lives with four others in a small, sparsely furnished apartment. Though they lack beds, they have a television on which Lara watches his favorite telenovela, "Heridas de Amor." He sends money home monthly and calls home every week.

"It's difficult," he said in Spanish. "When I call they say 'How are you?' I say 'I am fine.' " On Monday night, Lara was pulled over by police after buying a pack of cigarettes. He was not drunk but had an open bottle of beer in the car. He also lacked a license. He was arrested and when asked admitted he had no papers.

So this guy was driving without a license, with an open container of beer, under age, and in the country illegally, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him? Sheesh.

3 comments:

Orianna said...

OMG!!!! that's all I have to say about that.

Olivia said...

Yeah. I'd feel sorry for him if he hadn't been breaking 4 or 5 laws. I'm not all gung-ho about the illegal immigrant issue. They do all the grunt work that no "respectable" American will do. Although, maybe if they weren't coming over here illegally and stealing our shitty jobs, being a blue collar worker wouldn't have such a stigma attached to it. Who knows.

Celeste said...

Yeah.... grunt-work like carpentry? Masonry? Electrical? We're not talking pseudo-slaves picking lettuce under the hot california sun, we're talking about illegals willing to work traditionally respectable blue-collar jobs at much lower rates than legal employees would. No wonder unions hate them.

Reform immigration laws so law-abiding folks who want to come to the US and work legally, can. And then kick anyone caught breaking the law - either by being here illegally, or driving without a license, or raping and strangling a six year old girl - out.