The Thursday, Feb. 23, edition of Crain’s New York Business magazine featured an article written by Tom Acitelli titled, “NYPD to Defy Trump on Expanded Deportation Policy.” The following was stated: “New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill said his department would not enforce the Trump administration’s expanded deportation policy for undocumented immigrants. O’Neill said the department would continue to work with immigration officials when the public’s safety is at risk but would not enforce federal deportation warrants tied to minor offenses or abuse of government benefits [Daily News].”
Call me insensitive, but something about this policy doesn’t seem fair. One morning while driving my daughter to school, I circumvented hordes of traffic by driving a block in a bus-only lane because we were running late, and I was trying my best to get her there on time. Less than a week later, I received a summons in the mail for driving in a bus-only lane. The summons contained a picture of my license plate and a fine for an outrageous amount, with a warning that if I didn’t pay within 30 days a warrant would be issued for my arrest (or something close to that). I think it is safe to say this is a “petty offense,” but had I not paid the fine, do you honestly think the summons would not have been enforced with all of the vigor and authority possible?
A couple of years ago, I was running late for work. The subway train was pulling into the station. If I could catch this train, I would make it on time, if I missed it, I would be late. Hurriedly, I swiped my MetroCard. For some reason, it was unreadable and after several tries, I did what any New Yorker would do. As someone was coming out of the gate to the platform, I went in because there was still a chance I could get on the train. Suddenly, out of nowhere, two of the biggest, burliest men you ever want to see appear. They surround me, flash badges and ask me to step aside. As they have me pinned against the wall, staring at me intensely, daring me to move a muscle, I sadly see the subway pull out of the station. While hardly breathing and sweating profusely, I am allowed to show my I.D. I explain how my monthly MetroCard, which costs a small fortune each month, was unreadable by the turnstile, so I proceeded through the door. A petty offense wouldn’t you say? However, as far as they were concerned, that was a poor excuse. I was issued a summons, which required me to take a morning off from work to appear before the magistrate, stand in a line up with roughly 55 other people, and as they went down the line, one-by-one, we had to admit that we were “guilty.” It was humiliating to say the least. And oh yes, and I also had to pay a fine.
Now let’s get to the real nitty-gritty. Call me illiterate, prejudice, bias, un-American, mean, hateful, the scourge of the Earth, but do you mean to tell me that I, unable to take a vacation around the corner because I have to pay taxes to support government funding for programs for those in need (I am in need, too, but that’s beside the point), am to support a mandate that will not issue or enforce warrants against undocumented immigrants who are abusing governmental benefits? What?
For all of you American citizens out there, commit a petty offense, abuse a government benefit, and see what happens to you. Or go to another country without proper documentation, commit a petty offense, abuse a government benefit, and see what happens to you. You will be in jail or sent back home so fast you will be a blur.
There is a huge movement, a cry for justice, to uphold American values, constitutional rights. Who is crying out for Ramarley Graham, a young Black man who ran into the safety of his home only to have the door kicked open by a police officer with a gun in his hand who shot him to death? Face it, we only cried out for Eric Gardner for a minute. Where were the constitutional rights and the upholding of American values when George Zimmerman was told by the Florida police to stay in his vehicle, yet he got out of his car, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old with a bag of Skittles in his pocket? Aren’t you enraged over these incidents?
While we are on the subject, call me paranoid but have you ever been on the D or B train during the early morning rush hour when you are packed into the subway car akin to a can of sardines? And while the train is zooming through the tunnel at top speed do you ever think that possibly— No, I don’t have the heart to say it, nor do I want to plant that visual in your head. I will say to those who believe that America is safe because, well after all, we haven’t had any serious incidents since the World Trade Center bombing, so we don’t have anything to worry about, that’s ludicrous.
I pray every day for peace, love and understanding, and that America can be a model for the world as to how mankind can live together. However, until that day comes, because we now live in a world of fast changing times and terrorist, I pray that our country will be safe and protected. I want to see industries booming (especially clothing manufactures. I abhor buying clothes with labels that say “made in China.” No offense to the Chinese. I’m just saying). I want everyone who wants a job, to get a job. Call me a nationalist but I believe in Black Lives Matter, first.
Equally important, I want to see America rid of the heroin epidemic. A recent article in The New York Times, posted an interview with a man who was finally deported after his umpth-teenth arrest for possessing with intent to sell illegal drugs. The man let us in on a little secret. He stated that heroin is transported across the boarder in the heels of shoes. Once the heel is hollowed out it is easy to fill it with heroin, cross the border, sell it, go back across the border and use the money to buy a cow for the farm or a new tractor. Now I don’t have a problem with a man trying to buy a cow or a new tractor for his farm, but not at the expense of Americans becoming addicted and dying by the multitudes from drug overdoses. What are we going to do about it?
The good news for the week is—Don’t worry, I will think of something.
Until next week … Kisses.