Yes, according to the Pew Research Center: 73% of the children of undocumented immigrants are born in the United States. I was reminded of this a few days ago after I witnessed the exchange with a Maryland second-grader and the First Lady Michelle Obama a few days ago:
I'm sorry, but if that doesn't tug at your heartstrings, you just might be full of embalming fluid. Surely this kid didn't just snitch on her mom, right? I mean I've heard that mentioned a time or two in passing. But what frustrates me is that very few people that I've encountered sees this for what it is. That would be, a call for attention to a problem that is the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
I won't go into making a case for it because I think anyone following this blog can tell you that I have done just that, time and time again. However, I do want to point to the idea that the child of this mother is being viewed as a criminal for being in this country "illegally". So, is the mother of this child a criminal? Well, though some may feel that way, let's see just what the good folks at the Department of Homeland Security and ICE thinks:
The mother of a Maryland second-grader who questioned First Lady Michelle Obama about the Obama administration's immigration policy will not be deported, federal officials said Thursday.To some, this is probably seen as a travesty of justice. The fact that an "illegal immigrant" is allowed to breathe all this good used-to-be-clean American air for free, without "papers", has to be right up there with flying a plane into a tall building in New York City. OK, so maybe that's a little extreme.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not take action against the mother, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“ICE is a federal law enforcement agency that focuses on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes criminal aliens who pose a threat to our communities," spokesman Matthew Chandler said in an e-mail. "Our investigations are based on solid law enforcement work and not classroom Q and As.”
On Wednesday the little girl asked Obama why the president was "taking everybody away that doesn't have papers."
"That's something that we have to work on, right? To make sure that people can be here with the right kind of papers," Obama said.
"But my mom doesn't have any papers," the student said as the first lady ended her answer.
The exchange went viral almost immediately and provided the most unscripted, "real world" moment of an otherwise over-scripted series of events in honor of Mexican President Felipe Calderon's state visit.
In an interview conducted in Spanish after the event, the 7-year old girl told a reporter: “I’m a big girl and I don’t want to be left with nothing. I could almost die.”
“My mommy wants papers so that she can be here legally, so that she doesn’t have to go to Peru,” the girl said. (source)
Instead, lemme put this "crime" into context. What this kid said was right up there with my daughter mentioning that I haven't paid any taxes in severalyears. No, I've paid my taxes; and yes, that example as a comparison sounds absurd. But don't tell that to the person who posted that as a comparable argument over on Michelle Malkin's blog.
I'm willing to bet, that in the eyes of conservative bloggers and comenters alike, this child is nothing but plant by the Obama administration and the liberal media who supports them.
QUESTION: Are they doing the right thing not deporting this child's mother?
