Great letter from facebook group.

This was a letter from a member of the Dream Act facebook group.

"Do any of you know illegal immigrants? I know many. I've met them in my classrooms, coming out of the kitchens of my favorite restaurants, and around my neighborhood. Once you open your eyes, it's hard to avoid 12 to 20 million people.

There's something odd about calling people "illegal." Suddenly their entire existence is suspect. Whatever they do is wrong. Not working or studying is laziness. Working steals a job from someone. Studying steals taxpayer money and perhaps a spot in a college classroom from someone else. Compassion is absent because they no longer have names, just the title "illegal."

Currently it's impossible to be rehabilitated if one is "illegal." A prisoner can be rehabilitated, returned to the community after paying his or her debt to society, but the debt of the "illegal" is an existential one, and, right now, in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of many citizens, it can never be repaid.

Yet suppose someone you loved told you they belonged to that "illegal" class. Would you call Homeland Security? Would you offer rationalizations as to why you wouldn't? Because the person is a good person who contributes to society, because DHS should concentrate on deporting the serious criminals first, etc...Tell me it's not different when the "illegal" has a name and a face.

Oh, yeah, my heroes. I can't tell you their names or even really identify them. But there's a couple of people I love who break my heart a few times a week with their accomplishments, courage, and decency.

I swear to you, if you could, you would recruit them for this country. You'd give them citizenship and a signing bonus to make sure they didn't go anywhere else.

And I bet if you looked at some of those other 12 to 20 million, you'd find many more that you would want to keep rather than let go.

Peace"

Thanks... good to know you are still around as well.

I will be posting that on my notes along with the list of people to call!

Take care bud.

It is a great letter. It is strange how similar it is to something that I wrote a while ago someplace else but the one that was posted in Juan site is sharper and neater than mine.
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First of all, Martin’s father was put in jail because he refused to sit in the back of the bus. Basically he broke the segregation laws. Second, I feel very happy and thankful for this segment. Any kind of media that tries to show the experience of immigrants in a non-derogative manner is always welcome. I am an illegal. Yes, I used the word illegal. It is the one used by all the people who call me a burden, animal and a monster. It is also the word used by illegals to describe themselves. You see, thieves are not always stealing and murderers are not always killing. An undocumented immigrant is always breaking the law, even when he/she is doing a good thing, like being a volunteer or donate blood. The crime eats the individual, dehumanizing him into a burden, an animal and a monster. I am a traitor too. Although the Mexican press loves to showcase the affinity that Mexico has for us, here and there some TV shows have described us as, drug dealers, ignorant, and free loaders.
What can I say to those who think I am inherently evil? Nothing I say will ever convince them that celebrating Thanksgiving with tamales is as good as celebrating Thanksgiving with a turkey. I spend many years in college and I met many people. We root for each other trying to hold on to the dream of a degree. My memories are filled with young men and women whose dreams got cut. Their raccoon ayes for overworking and over-studying and how much they wanted to do something with themselves. I also remember those with convertibles and expensive apartments who party all the time and had a job waiting for them in their parents’ businesses. College is unbearably hard for many and quite easy for some. One professor of Economics told us that public Universities become a subsidy for the upper middle class and the wealthy. To imply that low income individuals have to tear each other apart for a piece of the American dream is one of the cruelest things any person can say.
Of course, that is not how they say it. When an eloquent man in a nice suit say “illegals devalue the wages of American citizens” even I hate myself. How can I not believe an eloquent man in TV? Economist Borges estimated that immigrants reduced the wages of citizens at about 5%. Well, that sounds troublesome but the minimum wage has decreased more than 5% in the last decades. The economy grew exponentially, yet most Americans do not see the benefits of that growth. I still, remember the waitress from Nevada who earned minimum wage. She was featured in the show NOW and I remember that she was told that minimum wage is a step not the end of the road. Today they have better reason, illegals are making you poor. How can she not hate me when she hears that I am the reason she is barely making ends meet over and over again?
What else can I say. It is deeply troublesome for me even to write this letter. I fear to speak. Part of me thinks that I do not have the right to say anything at all. Part of me believes that I am a burden, an animal and a monster but if I do not write, how you will ever know me? Who I am? I am the trail of blood that got me to this place and this moment.


http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/bl...prejudice.html