Illegal immigration is a hot topic, with Pope Francis a staunch supporter of the huddled masses, and Donald Trump staunchly against them.
The recent Sophie Cruz Kodak moment has opened a big can of wormy questions for me.
• If employers are supposed to take out taxes for their workers, and undocumented immigrants work, how do we keep track of their wages?
• Do undocumented immigrants get illegal social security numbers?
• If so, why doesn’t the IRS crack down on it?
• If the social security numbers are legit, why are these people still undocumented?
• How does a five year old girl from California, daughter of two undocumented parents, afford a trip to Washington with her parents?
According to a Washington Post article about Sophie, “she rarely sees her father, because he works many days from 4:30 pm to 3 am in a Los Angeles factory. She hopes one day she won’t live in fear that her father could be forced out of the country they call home.”
The item also said “she wanted to meet with Pope Francis after becoming scared that her parents could be deported. Unlike her parents, she and her sister are American citizens.”
During the interview with the Post her father Raul Cruz said, “She lives it every day. She sees family get separated, and we always tell her the truth when she asks why.”
So riddle me this Batman. How does a 5-year-old write such a letter?
ABC news was kind enough to print a translation, which had statements like this: “I ask you to speak with the President, Barack Obama, and the congressmen so they approve immigration reform.” And “Tell him also not to keep cutting the budgets for education in my California, it’s unfair that they cut our wings and kill our dreams.”
Does this really sound like the voice of a 5-year-old?
And if all these dreams are being cut short, how come California is spending so much on undocumented immigrants and their U.S.–born children? According to a study from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, “providing education, health care, law enforcement, and social and government services to illegal aliens and their dependents costs Californians $25.3 billion per year according to FAIR’s report The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on California Taxpayers. The state’s 3 million illegal aliens and their 1.1 million U.S.–born children cost the average California household — headed by a U.S. citizen — $2,370 annually.”
Not for Nuthin,™ but if in fact Sophie actually wrote this letter herself, she shouldn’t be in grade school, she should be on her way to Harvaard Yaaard.
Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.
