Demonizing illegal immigrants is a betrayal of America
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free …”
I was an illegal immigrant. We migrated over the Mexican border in the hopes of achieving a better life. America represented the best and greatest hope for advancement and opportunity. This was America’s promise.
My earliest memories included discussions of the responsibilities citizenship carried. Citizenship was something you earned. Hard work, gratitude, humility, assimilation … these were core to our ethos, necessary ingredients to make this country our home.
I’m staggered by how our politicians speak of the migrant class today. This demonization of the migrant journey is corrosive to the soul of our country. It is a betrayal to what has made this country so great.
I’ve heard the dog whistles, and they simply aren’t based in fact. Migrants are far less likely to commit crimes, they contribute to social security while being ineligible to withdraw, and they are core to our economic future. Nearly half of Fortune 500 companies are founded by migrants or children of immigrants.
What kind of future can you cultivate if you believe you are surrounded by monsters? This country succeeds because it believes it brings out the best in each other. When our leaders only see the worst in a people, we have truly lost our way.
I recently worked with Denver Catholic Charities to help process migrant applications for protected status. The collective humanity of all involved was the American Spirit on full display.
We can solve our problems while preserving our values. That’s truly the American way.
Ruben Sigala, Denver
Proud Marine welcomes the gratitude
Re: “Want to thank me for my service? Don’t light fireworks,” July 4 commentary
The Denver Post published a well-written opinion from a veteran who said there were times when he didn’t want somebody to say, “Thank you for your service.”
I’ll take a “Thank you for your service” anytime and be grateful to the person who gave it.
The first time I heard the thank you was about 20 or 30 years after I got out of the Marine Corps. A young guy living next door said it to me and I asked, “What? Thank you for what?” I thanked him for saying it and felt good about it.
When I came back from the Marine Corps in 1957 a few of my friends asked, “Where you been?”
I told them I had been in the Marine Corps and, among other things, had been in an atomic bomb test.
The response was usually, “Oh, ya, sure. And I’ll bet you glow in the dark.”
That ended me saying much about the Marine Corps until many years later when I used to have morning coffee with some other veterans.
After a couple of life-threatening cancers, the government gave me a cash payout. They sent me an Atomic Veterans Medal and an Atomic Veterans Certificate signed by the Secretary of Defense. I appreciate that and am proud of the time I served in Marine Corps Test Unit # 1, developing air-mobile (vertical envelopment) infantry tactics.
I have no regrets for anything that I did or happened to me in the Marine Corps. Nobody owes me a thing for the time I spent in the Marine Corps, and nobody owes me a “Thank you for your service,” but whenever somebody says it I am truly grateful for them taking the time to say it.
John Dellinger, Aurora
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