Monday, May 17, 2004

This should make you angry:

Angela Cabral lost her soldier son to a roadside bomb in Iraq - and now the U.S. government is trying to deport her....

The problem: She pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, thinking her only punishment would be 90 days in jail and probation. Instead, she is likely to be returned to Mexico and permanently barred from re-entering the United States.

Cabral is one of a growing number of legal immigrants facing deportation after they had struggled to earn a "green card" with the precious promise: "Entitled to reside permanently and work in the U.S."

They are being caught up in a post-Sept. 11 drive to clear the country of foreign criminals, legal or illegal.

In many cases, including Cabral's, immigration judges are barred from showing mercy. The law requires deportation for most drug possession charges, even for the mother of a dead hero....

Her two youngest children, ages 14 and 9, will have to choose between living with their mother or in their native United States. For now, they are staying with their 21-year-old sister, Rosio, in Kansas....


And before anyone starts asking what the hell all these damn immigrants are doing in our country in the first place, you should know this about the dead soldier:

He was the only one of Angela's five children not born in the United States.

"He extended his enlistment in January to get his citizenship," said his widow. Juan planned a career in the Army. He left two children; a third died last year at the age of 6 months.


(Link from Today in Iraq.)


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