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By Austin Wright
Colette Tranchant cried as she held up a large photograph of her daughter, Tessa, at a public hearing on immigration Wednesday night at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
In March 2007, Tranchant's daughter was killed by a drunken driver who was in the country illegally.
"We are losing something that no amount of money can replace," Tranchant told the Governor's Commission on Immigration, a 20-member panel that is studying the effects of immigration in Virginia.
"They're not enforcing the laws," Tranchant said. "What does that teach our children?"
About 30 people attended the hearing, the third of five held throughout the state. The commission is trying to gauge public opinion on immigration issues before it reports its findings to the General Assembly at the start of its next session in January.
Of those who addressed the commission Wednesday, viewpoints were evenly divided, ranging from those advocating the deportation of all illegal immigrants to illegal immigrants themselves expressing a desire to stay and work in this country.
"From the moment I stepped on American land, I started working as hard as I could so that I could pay my expenses in this country and in my own country," said Jose, who spoke through an interpreter and provided only his first name because he is in the country illegally.
"What we are asking is to please not close the door to this opportunity," he said.
Another speaker, John Smigielski, told the commission that the country should not provide social programs such as education and health care to illegal immigrants.
"It's going to take a whole lot of courage to do the right thing - you're going to be called racist," he said. "We are a nation of laws, and we need to follow those laws."
State Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, chair of the commission, said its final report will offer policy recommendations to state lawmakers and to Virginia's delegation in Congress.
Austin Wright, (757) 446-2667, austin.wright@pilotonline.com
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lccat
The solution is to hold the businesses responsible. Until that is done, the problem with illegals will never be cleared up. Both parties refuse to go after the businesses, and that is where it will sit. The only solution is when the US ceases to be an oligarchic plutocracy, and an average Joe finally is elected in to some office with power. This will never happen in "capitalism", as all capitalisms are run exclusively by the wealthy elite. So good luck with holding your breath.
It doesnt matter
If US citizens are driving drunk and kill someone, they can and should be punished. But that doesnt mean that illegals that drive drunk and murder a child with their car, should be excused. They Have NO legal right to be here, and if that one illegal was deported or prevented from coming here, Mrs Tranchant's little girl could still be with her today. The issue isnt drunk driving,; its enforcement of our immigration laws to prevent these tragedies from happening.
OUR FAMILIES ARE AT THE MERCY OF ILLEGALS
Again "our" FAMILIES are at the mercy of ILLEGALS and their Anchor Babies being murdered, raped, infected with disease, or robbed. We can see the results of the ILLEGAL invasion in our courts every day! But NOT to worry the Chamber of Commerce will get their "cheap labor" increasing "their privatized" PROFITS, thanks to Bush, the Congressional Leadership(?) and of course the Presidential candidates of "our" two "major" Politicial Parties!!
Again and again and again, I just do not understand how our President and our congress can send our young men and women half way around the world in defense of the United States and refuse to defend our National Borders and Enforce our Immigration Laws while at the same time warning our military, for their own safety, not to wear their uniforms when traveling to "our" southern borders.
History & Immigration
One thing can't be denied; the folks landing on the shores of Va., Mass., Fl., etc., (& their descendants), had to be quite happy the Native Tribal Govts. didn't have immigration departments with deportation laws being enforced!
Illegal=Criminal
If they are in the country illegally they are criminals and should be treated as such. I am sorry for their home country conditions, but quit making excuses about how it will hurt the economy if they are made to go home. They are freeloading on my taxes (which are used to pay for the roads they drive on, the schools their children attend and so on and so forth). I think what the government should do is grant them amnesty/resident status based on their ability to pay all their back taxes for the time they have been in the country illegally. That would go a long ways towards reducing the federal deficit I bet!
Orion
Ive been in the emergency room at least 9 times in the past 5 years. Every time I was in there, the room was filled with, what appeared to be, fluent English speaking legals.
You have managed to do nothing but show that you are a racist profiler by your comments ,especially with the welfare comment. There is no way to tell someone is on welfare by anything required to be filed to enter an emergency room. My guess is that you look at every non-white in the room and assume they are on welfare, and you assume everyone who happens to be hispanic/and or not speaking English is an illegal. That about sum it up? Speaking of ignorant rants......
Emergency Rooms
I can only think that anyone being able to feel factual, in stating that emergency rooms have become clinics for illegal immigrants & welfare recipients, must be employed in a position to actually see documentation that anyone in the emergency room is on welfare. Better yet, how is it that one can be so certain that anyone in an emergency room is an illegal immigrant. My family, on my fathers side, has been in the USA over 300 years. On my mother's side, over 250 years. Yet members of my family, up to my father's generation, felt more comfortable speaking among themselves in their Patois. All were quite fluent in English. You will find this to be true within different communities. I have great nieces & nephews that are being reared to be trilingual, due to their grandparents varied ethnic backgrounds. To hear a different language spoken doesn't mean the speaker is an illegal immigrant.
Border Security
Seems many of my fellow posters are unaware that there are places on the USA - Canada border that are wide open. One, from any country, originally, can go to Canada & simply walk across the USA - Canada border. Some of these crossing areas simply have a phone that one is expected to use, on the honor system, to inform the proper authorities of their crossing. Too often, the phones don't even work. It's not as hard as some think, to get into the USA by simply arriving by ship at some of our ports. It doesn't matter if they are private pleasure craft, luxury liners, or working tankers. The USA has always had different rules for different immigrants. Look at the difference in treatment of Cubans, requesting political asylum as they arrive in Florida & Haitians who request the same asylum from Haiti as they arrive.
RE Hampton Roads speaks out about immigration issues
What might historically correct description of illegal aliens is they are pirates (especially) by piracy of ID or U.D. Fed Social Security card documents, as includes the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union “unless infested by pirates”. Yes, the U.S. is infested by pirates.
I can never feel sorry for known criminals (violation of U.S. Code Section 1324 is a CRIME).
I'm tired of hearing this.
The system isn't broken, the system isn't being used. This statement equates you telling me your computer is broken because it isn't plugged in.
Coolguy, have you been in an emergency room lately, doubtful from your ignorant rant. They're nothing more than clinics for illegals and welfare recipients.
Funny thing is, if you have insurance, you're looked down upon...