Jorge Torres, Jr.

The Mexican in me tells me something isn’t right. Making “illegal aliens” felons is a draconian law to say the least.

My father crossed that big river a while back before I was born. Yes, he was here illegally for years. Now, he is an official American who proudly waves the American flag. He worked hard for years, bought a house, and raised a family. That brings the story to me.

Me, I’m an American. I served my country for seven years in the Army. I have lived a good life and its just getting better. I am now helping to lead my community in Arcadia Park to be drug and thug free with a Crime Watch group, along with the help of the DPD and other resources. I started off with four people. Now, I have at least fifty people attending the crime watch and crime is going down.

I think my Dad did well in raising his children even though he was an “illegal”. I have thought long and hard about this immigration problem. Call it what you may, there is a problem.

I am a conservative. I listen to talk radio almost every day. I love to watch FOX news. I agree with a lot of the opinions that the talking conservatives heads say like Limbaugh and Hannity. But the Mexican in me rejects whole heartedly most of their view points on immigration.

Shaun Hannity said that illegal immigrants had their chance when Regan gave them amnesty, and the rest are in violation of the law. So, should we ship all the millions back to Mexico? Gather them up from their barrios in paddy wagons; put them on a train to Mexico? No; of course not.

The U.S. has to secure the border first and then deal with the millions of illegal aliens, migrants, “them people” (as they are labeled) and lets not forget the “W” word.

Congress must come up with a solution that lets hardworking law-abiding immigrants stay here in America.

Securing the border will stop many of the bad people coming in. It will also stop the tons of drug trafficking. We cannot forget about terrorists who may try to enter the U.S. via Mexico; easy to imagine.

I understand there are many sides to this issue that are debatable, but the conservatives must understand that the Mexican in me will not let me turn my back on my people -- no matter what.