Is Elvira Arellano -- the recently deported Mexican illegal alien -- the new Rosa Parks?
Some of her supporters describe her this way. But Arellano's credentials as a "role model," to say the least, fall short. Indeed, even some "immigrant rights activists" find the comparison embarrassing. A check of the websites of The National Council of La Raza and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund finds no statement one way or the other concerning Arellano.
Rosa Parks, a black woman, was born in 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama -- that is, Tuskegee, Alabama, United States of America. She thus entered life as an American citizen, but was denied the rights and protections afforded by the United States Constitution. Arellano sneaked into the country, not once, but twice, and defied a deportation order by receiving "sanctuary" for over a year in a Chicago church.
Arellano gave birth on American soil to a son, now 8. But she does not speak of his father. She condemns the U.S. government for "breaking up" her family because Saul (her son) remains in the United States while she reportedly lives with friends in Tijuana, Mexico. But Arellano chose to leave Saul behind, claiming that his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder requires better medical care than provided in Mexico.
Arellano's justification for illegally crossing the border? "I came to the United States to work. I came because of what NAFTA and other U.S. economic policies have done to my country, in which I could no longer find work that paid a living wage." After her deportation to Mexico, she said, "The United States is the one who broke the law first. By letting people cross over [the border] without documents. By letting people pay taxes. . . . "
That's a new one.
As for the assertion that America "broke the law first," Arellano makes an interesting claim: the failure of America to effectively police its borders constitutes a criminal act that morally and legally justifies illegal entry into America. Arellano's insulting demands simply harden hearts. Instead of displaying even a hint of gratitude, she lectures American citizens that her son has the same rights as President Bush. Who said he didn't?
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