Have you heard the case of Jeanette Vizguerra, a person who is unlawfully present in the United States and has taken refuge in a church, which puts the church in violation of 8 US Code 1324? She stretches the truth…ok, breaks it…in this opinion piece
Honey? The choice is not yours to make.
This year is my 20th in Denver, but I may have to spend it in the basement of the First Unitarian Church instead of my own home. When I wake up in the room set up for me here, my first thought every day is who will pick up my children from school.
Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to extend my stay of deportation. I sought sanctuary in the church because, like that of millions of other immigrants, my future in this country was thrown into doubt. Thanks to President Trump’s new policy, every undocumented person is a priority for eviction from this country.
In my years here, I have witnessed many injustices and have been involved in community organizing against them, including as a co-host of a radio show here. After paying taxes for two decades, spending thousands of dollars on my immigration case and fighting my deportation for eight years, I am not giving up now.
The horror, ICE refused to extend her stay of deportation. Obviously, this means Americans are super big meanings. Or not
(KDVR) Jeanette Vizguerra, a mother of four, was scheduled to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Wednesday morning.
She wanted to extend the stay on her deportation order, which expired last week, while she continues the application process for a special visa. The extension was denied when she failed to show up for the meeting.
So, the person who caused the refusal was ….. herself, for blowing off the check in. She has no one to blame but herself. She doesn’t tell you this in the beginning of the article, only explaining it way down near the end, a point which most people have already tuned out and moved on when it comes to reading web articles.
We see from the KDVR article that she arrived illegally in 1997 with her husband and a 6 year old. Since she is 45 now, that means she was not a child at the time she intentionally broke our immigration law. At one point she was charged with not having a license or insurance and for having an expired license plate. Those charges were dropped. She put a made up Social Security number on a document she was planning to use for a job application. She pled guilty to attempted possession of a forged instrument. La Immigra became involved at that point.
She was given the opportunity to voluntarily self-deport. She finally did leave, then came back, paying someone to smuggle her across the border, for which she was almost immediately caught be the Border Patrol, making her an alien absconder.
Back to the Times screed, and her ending
Their example inspires me to continue the fight until we are all able to walk the street freely. But it is not easy to be so public, and — grateful as I am for the support of the Sanctuary Coalition — it is hard to live in a church instead of my home. Perhaps you’ve seen the hashtag #JeanetteBelongsHere. The United States is the country of my children. I will stay here because it is my home. I will not leave.
And this is exactly one of the reasons why so many have so little care for illegal aliens: there is little in the way of humbleness, or being contrite. We see them demanding the U.S. give them stuff. Food, shelter, education, welfare, money, healthcare, and, of course, citizenship. There is defiance, even though they are the ones who’ve broken our laws and taken advantage of American generosity. Anytime in the past 20 years she could have left and applied for lawful status. She did not do that.
And her choice to stay, like that of many illegals, is not hers to make.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
During that same period of time my wife, who came here legally as the U.S. director of marketing for a yuuuge S. Korean company applied for and received a green card, studied for citizenship and became a citizen. So there really IS a path to citizenship, isn’t there?
Few Americans support the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and the majority support a “path to legal status”.
The inhumane treatment of these people by trump and his minions is a disgrace to America.
#tyranny
I don’t remember you bitching when Obama was deporting them. Why is that?
Seriously, Jeff, why is it “inhumane” to ask people to follow our laws?
Can you put in context your claim that “so many have so little for illegal aliens”? The statement seems in contrast to the evidence.
Hoagie: We make laws all the time, repeal laws all the time, change laws all the time. trumpy could sign an EO today revoking citizenship to Korean immigrants. As you may well know, one of the worst terrorist attacks in US history was in 2007 when a South Korean, Seung-Hui Cho, shot 49 innocents, killing 32, at Virginia Tech. That’s not to say that all Koreans are or could develop as violent murderers, but it’s better to be safe, right? Just maybe the feds should keep extreme surveillance on Korean immigrants and the company they keep. Congress could even pass a law. Would you support THOSE policies? Would you urge judicial review?
Using a “law” to deport peaceful workers is inhumane. Every day 100 million Americans break the law on our highways and we largely ignore the criminals and their crimes. Are you recommending that the governments crack down on speeders? It would be easy to do with today’s technology. How about wealthy tax cheats? Since the days of Reagan, many go undetected.
Or do you just support strict enforcement of laws that harm your enemies? No need to answer that.
Teach: President Obama was deporting violent offenders. In fact, during President Obama’s terms the net flux was toward Mexico. The peaceful workers here did not feel terrorized. It looks as if trumpy is wanting to terrorize all undocumented workers, talking about hunting them down just as the Nazis went after Jews. To trumpy’s credit he doesn’t plan to kill them or send them to work camps yet. We get it, trump has to reward his white nationalist constituency, largely conservative christians, who demand that America return to it’s pristine white, christian, straight, conservative privilege. Deporting Mexicans is part of that – his base will not accept just deporting violent offenders. The military operation (his words) deportation force tracking and hunting “illegals” slakes the bloodlust of his most ardent supporters.
How do you feel about his ignoring the “Dreamers”, also just as much a lawbreaker as a peaceful lettuce harvester or a motel maid, whom the federales are now hunting down? Once you start making exceptions to laws we have anarchy, right?
#tyranny
Every day 100 million Americans break the law on our highways and we largely ignore the criminals and their crimes. Are you recommending that the governments crack down on speeders? It would be easy to do with today’s technology. How about wealthy tax cheats?
You must be joking. If you get caught speeding you are ticketed and you have to go to court and pay a fine. Even if the violation is something like a broken tail light if you fail to do so you risk losing your license. And same for wealthy tax cheats. There is a story on the MSN front page today about a pizza chain owner going to jail for tax fraud. Honestly do you even believe yourself?
How inconvenient it must be for Mexicans and others to follow our laws. And yet if you entered Mexico illegally and then were discovered, no matter how long ago it may have been, you would be in a Mexican prison and your American family would be lucky to ever see you again. No one is asking anything from these illegal aliens that isn’t asked of every legal immigrant. Front door, take the classes, pay the dues. This woman is using a stolen SS number. She is driving around on the streets without being licensed and insured. So more fraud. And safety and regulations for legal citizens but not for illegals? I guess they only do what they want to and the American People can just deal with it because…. care to explain?
This woman was already deported. And not while Trump was president. She had no right to come back and this is not her home.
Majic,
The point is that we don’t bother to pursue the 100 million speeders – almost all repeat offenders, daily.
And think about defrauding consumers. Recently, a wealthy con man defrauded thousands of gullible consumers by creating a fake university and charging the students many thousands of dollars without delivering the promised services. A civil court ruled against the con man, dunning him $25 million, but no jail time. Isn’t defrauding hapless consumers out of many millions worse than a young woman picking strawberries? The same con man has been accused by dozens of credible women of sexual assault including the rape of a 13 yr old girl. So far he has avoided prosecution but his partner in crime J. Epstein served several months for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution. These all seem worse than picking lettuce for a few cents a head.
Ironically, the same con man/ abuser is leading the charge for hunting down Mexican workers like the Nazis hunted down Jews.
I’d like to point out li’l Jeffery, Trump has taken an immigrant into his home and helped her become an American and part of his family. I too, have taken in an immigrant. Seems YOU, refuse to take in an immigrant family and support them yourself. Why is that? Hypocrite!
So obviously both Trump and I are PRO-IMMIGRANT and you are the inhumane one.
Even after the last election you don’t understand this is not a democracy, but a Republic and we have laws whether you like them or not. And I just explained to you we have “a path to legal” but it requires one to be “legal” to begin with. Oh! the injustice of it all!