Harvard Student from the South Bay: Reaction to Reaction

The emotional element of the immigration debate has taken too much of a toll on everyone's reason.

The hearts and flowers, the tears and fears are irrelevant when it comes to the future and the well-being of the citizens who live in the United States.

The unforeseen consequences of non-enforcement of the immigration laws will hurt everyone in this country, including those citizens who are living in the United States illegally yet were brought here as little children, having little say in the matter one way or another.

Francisco Hernandez of Lennox certainly has overcome serious setbacks in his life. An abusive father and now a dead mother both undercut the support system in his life.

 I am impressed that a teacher would step in and assist this young man to get by to get his diploma.

Or should we rejoice? The assistance from public officials perhaps did more harm than good. Why enable anyone to live in this country illegally? The irresponsibility of these parents, coupled with the emotional temperament of modern liberalism is simply doing more harm than good.

If parents really cared about their children, they would not be putting them in the precarious position of living in this country illegally. The DREAM legislation which wants to help out these youth is hurting them in the long run, making it easier for them to have to live in the shadows and fear deportation and criminality at every step. These illegal non-enforcement handouts are hurting the very people they were meant to help.

I do no commiserate with a young man who faced many hardships to endure many other hardships in his life. Misplaced human compassion is hurting the entire country. The United States of America  must enforce the laws on the books as much as possible, no matter how heartless and cruel the program may appear on the nightly news. In the long run, everyone wants to live and emigrate to a country where the rule of law is respected. By picking and choosing which class of individuals does not have to risk facing deportation, the government becomes more arbitrary, the options for corruption and dysfunction harm everyone with a stake in this nation.

When the local press focuses in on one "sob story", the very exploitative nature of the piece should be enough to offend readers.

Mr. Hernandez needs to be treated with humane respect under the law, which would also mean that he should never have been allowed to enroll in a public school in California in the first place. That would have prevented this problem from becoming a crisis. His parents should have been held accountable for the foolish decision of bringing their son into this country illegally.

I respect his tenacity for excelling in a charter school in a troubled region of Los Angeles Country. Still, he is living in this country illegally, and therefore he must seek naturalization according to the rule of law. His intellect would certainly serve this country well, but he must do so in a simple, lawful manner.