Last week, I wrote a post about Jorge Garcia.
Mr. Garcia was brought to this country as a young boy by his well-meaning parents. Unfortunately, they skirted the emigration rules and Mr. Garcia is undocumented. Last Monday, he was sent back to Mexico, a country he has not lived in for thirty years. His wife and children, who are all American citizens, are doing as well as they can under the circumstances.
Appearing on The View last week, Mrs. Garcia and her children spoke to the co-hosts and the audience, as well to Mr. Garcia, who called in via satellite. At several points during the interview, Mrs. Garcia and her children all broke out into tears. If I could have reached across the screen and hugged them, I would have.
Mr. Garcia’s only crime is that he was brought to this country as a young man illegally. Other than that, he is an upstanding, hardworking, respectable citizen. While I understand that the immigration laws are in place for a reason, we need to show some humanity. Of course, if someone has perpetrated a criminal act and is here illegally, they should be sent back to their country of origin. But if they are just going about their business without breaking the law, I see no reason why they should be punished by being forced out of the United States. Especially if they came here as children and only think of themselves as Americans.
One of the flaws that exists in the American culture (and by extension some of our laws), is that we say one thing and do another. It’s time to say what we mean and mean what we say.
Writergurlny 