Friday, May 2, 2008

What Rights?

There is an AP article out talking about illegal immigrants rallying for their "rights". This brings back memories of the 1993-94 school year when I lived in Mexico. I was there as a legal exchange student with proper visas and everything. Yet it still took my host mother about a week to get the principal to let me into school. Later that year California started taking measures to turn illegal immigrants away from public schools. This was a big topic of conversation among my host family (all adults). They were outraged until I asked them the following questions.

"What would happen if I decided to return next year go to school, but I had no paper work? What if I brought several friends with me? What would happen?"

They answered that we would be kicked out of school. They said we might even be arrested. Then it dawned on them that America has the same right to treat citizens differently than non-citizens.

So I say to those claiming that illegal immigrants have rights, "You are right. They have rights in their own country. Here they are not citizens and do not have the rights of citizens."

No comments: