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CommentsRe: Blueprint for a Dream: An undocumented student imagines a life deemed legal
This debate got ugly since the last time I checked in! F-bombing? Name calling? Poking fun at someone's level of education? Telling people to "get the fuck out"? C'mon y'all. Practice your manners. Meanwhile, Sotone's rant about student visas has gone unrefuted. Student visas? For people brought who were brought here as children, raised here, and are now living here undocumented? What avenue to student visas do they have? And let's say they weren't brought here as children... how many disadvantaged foreigners from Shitsville, Mexico have the resources to apply for student visas? This is why people circumvent the law. Should we "punish" these lawbreakers? I don't personally think so, but let's just go ahead and say, for argument's sake, that yes, they deserve punishment. This still doesn't justify punishing children. Who cares if Maria's parents "created" the problem? Do we incarcerate the children of criminal parents? Do we execute the children of those on death row? No, we don't, and if we did, I think everyone would agree that the system needs to change, and that it is reasonable for people caught in the cracks to hope that the system will change for them and others like them. While I am disappointed by the aggressive exchange of personal attacks here, I cannot deny that "Your the fucking idiot" was absolutely classic, the kind of beautifully spontaneous irony that truly delights and depresses at the same time. BTW, shout out to snagglepuss, with the elegantly stated "Borders are arbitrary. Human needs are not."
Martian, the DREAM legislation isn't about trying to determine who gets in and who stays out. It's about providing an avenue to citizenship for people who are already here. So are the legislative efforts geared at providing a route to citizenship for undocumented workers. And yes, we should consider people on a case-by-case basis. Remember the thing about having to demonstrate productivity and "good moral character"? Sure, "case-by-case basis" opens up a huge can of worms and probably creates a lot of paperwork. Sure, it creates problems. Boo hoo. Personally, I'd rather find a way to deal with those problems than blindly ruin the lives of living, breathing, struggling human beings who are contributing to our society.
Is it really so hard to separate out those who contribute constructively and those who don't? Maria has documented evidence of attending college and working. Her family has a taxpayer ID #, meaning they pay taxes. They are proficient in English. And the problem of people driving around with no license or insurance, or sucking the blood from the system without giving back, or refusing to integrate and become successful, is not at all unique to illegal immigrants. Our country is rife with institutionalized mechanisms of privilege and oppression that have nothing to do with how much someone contributes or gives back. Automatic deportation of those who did not have the privilege of being born in this country (without considering the circumstances) is one such mechanism of oppression. For people who have a zero-tolerance policy for illegal immigration: God forbid you ever find yourself in a desperate situation, whether it's the need to escape war or poverty or violence or corruption or utter lack of opportunity, and the country you flee to offers you nothing but a big Screw You, Get Out.
Thanks for the wonderfully gripping piece. Maria's story is eye-opening, and reminds us of how much people will sacrifice, and how hard they will work, for a chance at educational and economic opportunities. I'm disgusted that our government will take people's tax money without promising them a place in our society. I'm disgusted that something like the DREAM Act doesn't already exist. If America doesn't want people from other countries immigrating here for a chance at a better life, perhaps we shouldn't be engaging in foreign policy that destroys foreign economies and subjugates foreign workers. And while it's great that NM offers undocumented workers a route to college, it's disheartening to know that those chances can be revoked at any moment. Undocumented workers deserve a path to citizenship, and we owe it to ourselves as a society to embrace people like Maria who are willing to struggle and sacrifice to become American citizens.
A person at an old clinic where I used to work listened to her all the time on the radio. I knew nothing about her, but after hearing her with one or two callers, realized how abusive and sexist and manipulative she is towards others. Her Dr. title should be revoked. The person who listened to her liked her because she "tells it like it is." That's utter baloney. Her "diagnoses" and advice were based on her own delusional ideology, and she's a total pig. Last edited [8/13/10 1:36 PM]
for covering this story. Absolutely terrific job. The right to choose sits on a perilous ledge in this country and ABQ has become a focal point for the anti-abortion movement. It's sad to me that "pro-lifers" look at ABQ and identify an 'abortion problem,' and not a problem with unwanted pregnancy, lack of access to family planning services, and limited education and socioeconomic opportunities. Last edited [8/7/10 3:33 PM]
Gravid, numinous, creosote, gloaming, and this week's cherry atop the piquant Sprocket lexicon, bosky Bosque, all in one 291 word article? Baby, I'll be the cryptospor to your idiom any day.
...do I really need to wear gloves? It's hard to feel the condition of your myelin sheaths when I'm all swaddled in latex.
I'd like to hover your round, ifyaknowwhatimsayin'
I'll take the Don't Eat 'Ems with a side of Spillers, please. | 
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