A personal face on the illegal immigration issue

/> "They drain our system!" you say. " They have no right to be here" you say." They are abusing our Medicare, our WIC programs, our Social Security system!" you say. You are right. The help that these families need can and should come from local community outreach programs. There are many churches that help tremendously with food donations, clothing giveaways and the like. There is a clinic in our area that caters to homeless and poverty-stricken clients who need regular medical care. I do not accept that in the great country of ours, we do not have the resources available OUTSIDE our government system.

If you knew some of the children I teach everyday and their families, you would feel differently about illegal immigration. Your ideas about right and wrong may not waiver, but you would find gray areas within your heart to look for solutions. Look back within your own roots and unless you are Native American, your ancestors were once in the same predicament, struggling to survive. I see the smiling, eager faces of young children trying to learn a new language. Many of their parents are taking English as a Second Language classes at night after working a full day. These classes are offered through churches and community college resources. With some grassroots organization and empathetic volunteers, so much more could be done without tapping federal and local monies.

Dont hate the illegal immigrant. Hate poverty and drugs. Hate military regimes. The next time you are out and about, look around. That group of workers landscaping in a nice neighborhood, that woman pushing the cleaning cart in the hotel and that family trying to make its money stretch at Goodwill or the Dollar Store are all faces of illegal immigrants. They are trying to get by, just like you and I. Consider that they are real people with families and hopes and dreams too.