The Anti-Jan-Brewer

While in some southwestern parts of this country the police are stopping brown-skinned folks and asking for papers, in New York state, Governor David Paterson made a rather unexpected move.

He wants to create a board that will consider pardons for immigrant New Yorkers who are on a fast-track to deportation because of old or minor criminal convictions. Paterson said he would like to inject fairness into an "embarrassingly and wrongly inflexible" system that expels immigrants without discretion, without considering the circumstances of a person's life or family, or even holding hearings to consider the possibility that deportation might be unwise or unjust.

Hmmmmm. Fairness. Justice. Listen up, Jan Brewer.

I've known quite a few people who were, or are, here illegally, and the majority of those are hardworking people looking for a break. They pay their taxes, they break no laws--except for overstaying their welcome. Should these people be rounded up and deported back into a country where they have no family, no job, no security? No. They shouldn't. Should they be told they have a time-limit to pursue becoming a legal immigrant to this country? Of course. And those who fail to take advantage of an amnesty program, those who have committed legitimate crimes while in this country, should be sent home.

But rather than force a mass exodus of illegal immigrants--and I'm talking all illegal immigrants, not just the brown-skinned one with the Hispanic names--each case should be studied individually and verdict should be based on the person, not their country of origin. There are illegals in this country from all over the globe, but the focus seems to be mainly on Mexicans. We can't look at the color of skin on an illegal immigrant and use that as a basis for who stays and who goes.

It took the United States a long time to turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, and it cannot be fixed in the blink of that same eye. It will take time, but should not be done with racist, fascist governors, or politicians flip-flopping on the issue--yeah, I'm talking to you, john McCain. This change will take time, but it should be done in fairness.

Bravo, Governor Paterson for showing courage and common sense and fairness.