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Immigration Quotes

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Immigration Quotes

“There's something that happens to the newly displaced. Whatever power or choice that was stripped away in the process of reluctantly leaving one's homeland is fervently reclaimed in other situations, and honing in on the best spot to sit and enjoy a meal, be it at a restaurant or a lakeside, takes on the utmost importance. . . . If nothing else, we were always prepared for any and all circumstances and with plenty of provisions to see us through.”

“The Home Office informs us that there are around 400 ex-offenders from overseas currently seeking refuge in this country. One geezer, who has 78 offences to his name, managed to escape deportation on the grounds that he’s an alcoholic! Drinking alcohol, it seems, is illegal in his homeland, so because he claims he’ll be persecuted and tortured we’ve said, “Oh, bad show, old chap. Tough call that. Enjoy a spot of scotch myself from time to time. Quite understandable. Well why don’t you stay here at our expense? You’ll be able to fondle and grope any woman you like. We’d never deport you for that, I can assure you. You’ll be perfectly safe here.”

“The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness. What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”

“None of the store's balloons seemed right. They offered birthday wishes, congrats on a new baby, but nothing to celebrate the reunion of a mother and child after a government-engineered separation. Then Laurie spotted some early-bird Valentine's balloons. They were red, heart-shaped, and printed with the simple words Te quiero. I love you.”

“The export of cartel power into the USA is a sensitive issue. The discussion about Mexican cartels’ northward push gets pulled, often unfairly, into the flaming American immigration debate. The anti-immigrant brigade talk about Mexican laborers as an invading army; and they see all undocumented workers as potential cartel emissaries, using migrant communities to hide undercover ops. The Mexican Drug War, they say, is a reason to militarize the border. Residents of border states vex about the danger of spillover. If thugs are decapitating in Juárez, they fret, how long before they cut off heads in El Paso? Is the Mexican disease contagious? Down in Mexico, the argument is reversed. A common complaint by politicians and journalists is that there aren’t enough arrests of big players in El Norte. Why haven’t we heard of the capos in the United States? they ask. How come some Mexican fugitives live unharmed north of the border? Why has Mexico been goaded into a drug war while narcotics move freely around the fifty states of the union?”

“Unless US citizens acknowledge and understand their country's imperial past, they will not be able to understand its present or future. Much of the recent and current Hispanic resettlement of parts of the United States is a consequence of empire.... Countercolonization follows colonization, and the waves of migrants always flow back like returning tides.”

“Less trade is the last thing most countries need if they are to improve their economies and the standard of living of workers of a lower socio-economic status. Reducing immigration is one sure way to stymie economic growth. And then there are the policies that this populist mantra is designed to mask: cuts to essential services like health and education to fund tax cuts for higher income workers and corporations. It's like a pickpocket who arranges a distraction while happily fleecing his victims. (p.22)”

“At least if she had committed a crime, she would have stood in front of a judge and answered the charge against her. If convicted, she would have been properly sentenced, and then she would know exactly how long she was to be here. But as a detainee she had no idea when she would be let out.”

“Getting bodies,” in Border Patrol lingo, didn’t necessarily mean collecting corpses. Bodies were living people. “Bodies” was one of the many names for them. Illegal aliens, dying of thirst more often than not, are called “wets” by agents. “Five wets” might have slipped out. “Wets” are also called “tonks,” but the Border Patrol tries hard to keep that bon mot from civilians. It’s a nasty habit in the ranks. Only a fellow border cop could appreciate the humor of calling people a name based on the stark sound of a flashlight breaking over a human head.”

“Perhaps we don’t pray the same as our Christian brothers and sisters do, but many men and women of God believe, regardless of our religion or our religious differences, we all pray to the same God. I have never read such evil thoughts. How does someone who writes such hateful words have the unmitigated gall to call himself a Christian?”

“We conclude this joyous ceremony with the traditional breaking of the glass. The fragility of this glass suggests the frailty of human relationships. The glass is broken to protect this marriage with prayer . . . May your bond of love be as difficult to break as it would be to put together the pieces of this glass.”

“But did guys like Dylan care about her people? Or did he believe, like many others, the victims had it coming? Arya compared the situation to a rape accusation by someone who was sexually promiscuous. She was asking for it, wasn’t she? In this case, Muslims were asking for it, weren’t they?”

“If he is anti-Muslim, Noah reasoned, then he is probably an anti-Semite and a racist, too. What sites would he migrate to online? Noah logged in and opened Safari. He entered “anti-Semite, racist, anti-Muslim” on the search line and clicked ‘return.’ He was surprised to see how much animosity and bigotry there was in the world. Before his eyes was a smorgasbord of hate.”

“The Constitution was sacred. The only sensible Amendments were the 1st and 2nd. The 1st allowed the Klan the right to free speech and assembly. And the 2nd allowed Klan members to purchase weapons and shoot any bastard that got in its way. Some non-white, impure people were equal all right. They were equal to each other, equal in their inferiority to white Christians, and equal in the sense he hated the fuck out of all of them equally.”

“She felt helpless. Only Allah can bring him comfort. Panic was setting in. Arya was dizzy and sick to her stomach. As Keith Blackwell took his last breath, some unknown force compelled Arya Khan to pick up the knife. The last thing she heard before sheer terror overtook her own consciousness was: “Dearborn Police, drop the knife!”

“There has been some sort of mistake.” “What mistake is that, may I ask?” The woman snarled. “These handcuffs,” she looked behind herself, trying to raise her arms. “Why have I been handcuffed?” “Well, sweetie, that’s not an unusual procedure when you stab someone to death,” the woman snapped. Arya was horrified. They think I did this?”

“It’s the times, Joey. Muslims are guilty of everything these days, even the destruction of our own place of worship, the center of our community. I cannot explain it, this prejudice and hatred. The jihadists have brought some of this upon us, but non-Muslims are just as guilty when they paint an entire society with such a broad brush.”

“In an actual criminal trial, before a judge or jury, the standard of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. In the grand jury proceeding, no one on the defense side is present to hold the prosecutor’s feet to the fire. And, because of the absence of defense arguments, grand juries almost always return an indictment. When prosecutors bring cases to grand juries, they are looking for a rubber stamp.”

“The rider was a distance away, but Arya could make out the beat-up leather jacket and grey hair spouting out all sides of the man’s helmet. A cold chill went through her body. No one else noticed the sound or the man. For no particular reason, she decided to keep this sighting to herself, and continued walking with Zack and her parents. Perhaps later, she’d confide in Zack. Was this the guy? Is he watching me?”

“If we assume they were all in this together, and Blackwell got careless and easily identifiable, then the group became concerned this Blackwell dude would cave when the cops showed up asking questions. They couldn’t have him naming co-conspirators, so they decided to carve the guy uplike a Thanksgiving turkey. You with me?” “I am,” Zack winced at the analogy. Thanksgiving would never be the same.”

“Despite many hiccups, an ICE spokesperson called the sweep the most successful weeklong event in history. The spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated that while crime involving Muslim immigrants in this country was not increasing or at dangerous levels currently—in fact, it was almost non-existent—the president was looking for people who had criminal histories, were Muslim, and were potentially deportable. Critics joked it was the most successful one-week sweep of its kind in history because it was the only one-week sweep of its kind in history.”

“Have you read about Timothy McVey in school?” “The Oklahoma bomber guy?” Kenny boasted, with pride he knew the answer. “Yeah, the Oklahoma bomber guy. He was Christian. Does the fact he was a Christian and a terrorist make all Christians terrorists?” Zack queried. “Of course not,” Kenny agreed, as if the question was ridiculous. “Of course not,” Zack mimicked. “So why then, if a terrorist is Muslim, are we so quick to assume all Muslims are terrorists?”

“Why should we hate or trash someone because of his or her faith? After all, religion, regardless of how it is practiced or who is practicing it, is supposed to be a good thing, right? Religion can just as easily be used as a force for evil rather than a force for good. Since we know this to be true, doesn’t this present us with opportunity? Shouldn’t we seize the moment to be more tolerant of each other’s beliefs, so hatred is not victorious in this moral battle?”