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What's Love...I Mean "Peace"... Got to Do With It?
By lindamuralidharan on 2012-06-21 18:47:32
So, for whatever motivation, the administration as ordered by President Obama will stop deporting a certain category of
undocumented immigrants who otherwise would still be deported as previous administration policy dictated. Hopefully
most readers know by now that this administration has deported many thousands of people and thousands more than the
previous "conservative" administration did. All this brings to mind a very wonderful man I once knew out in California. I
knew him as a 45 year old father of two young children, responsible husband, and dedicated member of Narcotics
Anonymous. In the latter role he gave considerable time to helping newly sober people stay that way and was himself in
recovery from substance abuse for nearly 10 years. The problem was that his Italian born parents had brought him to the US
to live when he was a toddler. They never insured his naturalization, but he grew up as an American speaking only English.
He also had a bad and wild young adulthood and served many years in state prison for a violent crime he had committed.
He had learned his lesson and never committed additional acts of violence and when released he began life as a
responsible, taxpaying person. Yet he had committed a felony, and the rule was that undocumented, convicted felons were
to be automatically deported after serving prison time. I don't really know what happened eventually in his case, but when I
knew him many citizens had joined his cause and were appealing to legislators and government agencies to vacate the
deportation order. Not only was he a person we would all like for a neighbor or fellow American, but he would be a
complete foreigner there should he be deported back to Italy. He did not know the language and had no friends or contacts
or likely way of obtaining employment adequate to proper support for a family...should they even be allowed to emigrate
with him. The felony was his fault, and he paid the appropriate debt. Being brought to this country as a minor child was not
his fault, nor was it his fault his parents were not adequate to raising a responsible child or responsibly seeing to it that he
was naturalized. Out of love for a fellow human and concern for fair play and decency, many Americans were outraged by
the attempt to enforce this policy in a rigid and inhumane way. I often hesitate to speak out publicly about immigration
policy because the situation is so complicated, and I am not a big supporter of people coming here without going through a
legal immigration application. However, many factors have placed masses of people in situations that make survival in their
home countries very questionable in terms of earning an adequate living or living in safety. This is a big subject I will not
dwell on here. However, where young people are concerned I believe it is important for a humane society and a peaceful
society to adjust policies to differing situations. If a young person is brought here before they can even begin to give
consent one way or the other, if they have lived here as many Americans would want their own children to live ....being
responsible students or employees of the military, holding down part time jobs, staying part of the positive youth community
who do not engage in gang or other criminal activities.....it tears my heart out to see them callously sent to a country where
they are foreign to the culture and are on their own for the most part and speak little or none of the local language. Recent
news reports showed students from many, many different countries who would likely be deported if the new policy had not
been established this month. Stories were also told of those who were deported before the new policy became
effective....people who tried to do what was asked of them by their parents, teachers, and by our traditions that say honesty
and hard work will be rewarded. Some of the latter not only have their education interrupted but have also been plunked
down in the poorer sections of countries like Honduras and Guatemala with a lot of crime and much poverty and few
educational opportunities for any but the elites and the affluent end of the middle class. These disruptions do not promote
peace or exhibit the values the US has often shown the world in the way of example. I applaud the new policy because it
shows love and respect for individuals. I applaud it because it exemplifies the best of what America has to offer citizens
and the world. I applaud the policy because the more responsible people we can keep and support in this country the better
our chances for peaceful solutions being worked out within our society as well as in international affairs. Yes, love and
peace have a lot to do with what we ask our government to do in our name as voters and taxpayers.
