Monday, November 17, 2008

Illegal immigrant kills Gilbert Teen

Still don't think illegal immigration is a problem? Over the weekend, an illegal immigrant killed one teen and injured another in a drunken driving accident as they were on their way to perform in the Gilbert Days Parade at 6:30 in the morning. He was arrested by Mesa Police Department and in addition to his crime, it was determined that he is in this country illegally.

How is it possible that we are facing a problem of this large magnitude and very few people are talking about it? It was barely mentioned in the Presidential election. In the past month or so, we have had a teen and a police officer killed by an illegal immigrant, yet the latest news we have on the subject is the push to remove "illegal alien" from court documents? I understand that there are a lot of other problems out there and the economy is suffering severly. However, immigration and border security must be a part of the conversation.

Should it be the only conversation? No. But I can see why people who focus their time and energy on these efforts are able to gain popularity and motivate people to support them. They are actually doing something about the problem. We need to respect human rights and the basic need for order in this society, but we shouldn't be afraid to act.

The Arizona Republic has also filed a follow-up story for those who would like to learn more about the victim. If you would like to help, a memorial fund has been set up through Washington Mutual and Chase banks to pay for funeral costs. The memorial service will also be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the City of Grace Church, 655 E. University Drive, in Mesa.

2 comments:

Kyle P. Edmonds, MD said...

While the story is certainly tragic and the problem of undocumented immigrants is one that needs to be solved, let us also remember that American citizens have been known to drink and drive from time to time.

PaulC1958 said...

The consequences to US citizens of the presence of 12-20+ million illegal aliens in the near term, as well as, over the next 50 to 100 years are never really explored. There is a drum beat from many in the country to grant amnesty to illegal aliens and to continue our defacto open borders policy without the slightest idea of the potential consequences of doing so.

We see a few of these deaths, mostly at the local news level, but the public sees very little compared to the reality of the extent of crime perpetrated on US citizens on the national news shows. The federal government doesn't even bother gathering statistics regarding crimes committed by illegal aliens and legal immigrants. It seems clear to me that they do not want the American people to know the true extent of this problem. The huge numbers of illegal aliens in this country demands governments at all levels base their policy decision on facts not marketing slogans. Saying that we are a nation of immigrants will not change a thing! Calling people despicable names (racist, bigot, etc.) will change nothing!

Granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens will not change the consequences of their presence here. The crimes will continue, and so will all the other negative consequences they brought with them when entered our country illegally, or created after they arrived.

In the race to satisfy corporate/business desires for a low wage economy, and special interest groups' desire for greater power and influence, and the politicians' desire for more votes without changing public policy, we see a fantasy world portrayed to the public. I fear H.L. Mencken accurately described the American public today when he said, “…it is in the nature of the human species to reject what is true but unpleasant and to embrace what is obviously false but comforting.” If politicians of both political parties choose to accept the comfortable lie, the whole country will also reap the difficult and unpleasant consequences.