No. 1 student: `I'm still crossing the border'

[AlphaCentauri]

Everybody remembers Angie. Maybe her name was Maureen or Deborah or Sandra where you come from. But you remember her. She was the best student in your high school. She was pretty, but not in an intimidating way. She was the girl-next-door-with-braces pretty.

The teachers loved her and so did your parents. Why can't you be more like Angie?

It didn't bother you, though, because Angie was nice, down to earth. She didn't get big-headed about being smart.


....Her classmates voted her most likely to succeed and, along with her boyfriend, Edgar Barron, the school's cutest couple. While keeping up with all her extracurricular activities, she managed to amass a 4.7 grade-point average.

And she managed one more thing, keeping a profound secret from even her closest friends: She is an illegal immigrant.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/15109715.htm

[Extend a Hand]

1. it's hard to understand

why people searching for a better life would be labeled by some as 'criminals' or even worse 'felons'.
Nice article.

[FILAM23]

2. Because

they broke the law, when you do that you are a criminal.

[Extend a Hand]

3. that 6 year old

in the white frilly sleeved dress was really hard core.

[AlphaCentauri]

4. escaping from extreme poverty is not a crime n/t

[depakid]

5. You can't talk sense to xenophobes

But you can wish on them and theirs the same sorts of hardships that some of the undocumentedeople in the US have endured.

In fact, I do that several times a week...

[FILAM23]

6. Sorry,

no xenophobe here. In fact my wife is an immigrant, in fact the legal
loopholes she/we had to go through and the amount of time it took is why I
am against illegal aliens. They get for nothing what it cost us many dollars and
months. I for one support increased legal immigration and streamlining the process.
However I will never support illegal behavior by anyone for any reason, nor will
I support amnesty for those that broke the law.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. so there is one more thing to blame immigrants for?

legal loopholes and archaic laws

[FILAM23]

7. No

but breaking laws, for what ever reason, is a crime.

[AlphaCentauri]

8. I believe laws do not mean justice

And justice should be above laws.

[Igel]

10. I continue to wait for the companion article.

I've read a bunch of these. I feel sorry for the kids, and loathe the parents who thought far too short term, and who believe they're owed something by others sipmly for being what they are.

But I know when I'm being manipulated; for every valedictorian, there's a drop-out who's involved in illegal activity and doing harm to others. They're also still "crossing the border", their parent(s) also made bad choices, and they also believe they're owed something by others simply for being what they are. We don't hear about them; one can argue we hear about them too often, and not this kind of person often enough, but 'illegal' or 'undocumented' isn't highlighted in articles about Latinos committing crimes. Moreover, there's no attempt to tie in such individuals in the Latino community with illegal immigration or immigrant rights. Most media only highlight immigration status when it suits their purpose.

On the other hand, ponder what would happen to UNAM if all the qualified illegal immigrants in the US were to apply; if the sense of national pride that many Mexican immigrants have in their mother country were to be translated into a desire to improve Mexico (with the same true for other immigrants, e.g. Honduran or El Salvadoran). With Mexican citizenship, they wouldn't need scholarships, IIRC; they'd have a bit of a struggle with Spanish in some cases, but they'd already have a second international language under their belt. They're probably at least as educated as the average graduate from Mexican high schools. Getting visas for grad study in the US would be a snap, if they wanted them.

[AlphaCentauri]

11. without opportunities dreams are just that, dreams

from the same article

"Angie didn't pay much attention to the immigration debate until it the time came to start applying for college or a driver's license. The controversy over her legal status was out there in the distance, like war or world hunger, far removed from her daily life of school and adolescent angst. Now, at age 18, she follows the issue closely. "My future depends on it," she says.

She watches the coverage on TV, reads about it in the newspaper, writes about it in her journal. "I am tired of having to find ways around what normal teenager citizens do. I can't drive. I can't travel. I can't work. I can't apply to thousands of scholarships that are perfect for me."