WFAA TV in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
market has been touting a story that they obviously think is some sort of tragedy. So bad, in fact, that the first words of their story are, "'Inhumanity' and 'atrocity' are just two words being used to describe news..."
One would think that the world was ending, wouldn't one?
The TV station is wracked up in high dudgeon over a family of Palestinians who are in the country illegally and were scooped up by Immigration officials and remanded to a rather posh housing center to await the outcome of the machinations of government officials trying to determine their fate.
Federal agents swept down on the Richardson apartment of Salaheddin Ibrahim, arresting him and five members of his family for immigration violations.Salaheddin was taken to a federal immigration prison in Haskell, Texas.
His wife Hanan and four of their children: Hamza (15), Rodina (14), Maryam (8) and Fatin(5), were all bused hundreds of miles away to the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas.
Unfortunately, because of the 14th amendment "born here, stay here" concept the family was split up with a three-year-old "baby of the family" left with legal relatives in Dallas. The child’s dilemma is certainly a regrettable aspect of this story, to be sure.
The WFAA report conveniently forgets to mention that the Ibrahim family had come here on Jordanian visas that had expired and that they were here illegally but it does briefly mention that US immigration officials were stymied in their deportation because their home country refused to take them back.
In fact, the entire WFAA report is filled with emotional pleas to allow this family to thumb their collective noses at our immigration laws. It is also filled with absurd rhetoric utilized to make the reader feel that this family is somehow being tortured.
An activist is quoted as saying, “It's so un-democratic, it's so un-Christian, that we would treat children as prisoners in America." That appeal, of course, that emotional appeal, is one that belies the truth. The family is here illegally and is being held until their situation is cleared up. Children are not being "treated as prisoners".
But, even if they were, it is the parent's fault for flouting our laws and NOT the official's fault for following duly constituted law.
This is certainly a messy situation, grated. But the simple matter of fact here is that these people have no real fear of being tortured or killed if returned to their country and they ARE here illegally, breaking our laws.
But, we are seeing a large network of anti-immigration law activists gearing up to raise money to thwart our laws and force the government to free this illegal family from the system. Those of us interested in upholding the laws should not just stand aside and allow these people to tear down our laws.
Again, the fact is that this family is here illegally. They broke our laws and now imagine themselves higher than those laws. The three-year-old's supposed citizenship notwithstanding this family should be deported. Period.
