American (Immigration) Nightmare

While DHS Secretary Napolitano is talking about ramping up immigrant detention numbers, the news stories below tell of the American nightmare facing many immigrants in the United States:

—  A monetarily (but which could not bring back to life an immigrant from Mexico who died much too young)  successful wrongful death suit of immigrant worker but which represents the tip of the iceberg with respect to the dangerous — indeed deadly — conditions in which millions of immigrant workers toil in the United States;

— The disputed citizenship of a Viet Nam vet who always thought he was a U.S. citizen and was treated like one until he sought Social Security benefits; federal officials say off the record that he is likely to prevail but are puttting him and his family through the wringer.  What kind of immigration bureacracy do we have that puts people through such needless pain?  And, again, this is the tip of the iceberg.  Just talk to an immigrant who recently visited his or her local immigration offices to file a petition or take care of some other immigration matter.  Needless to say, “customer service” is not what the federal immigration bureaucracy is known for.

— The headline “Border-Death Numbers Remain Steady.”  What kind of country do we live in in which deaths on the border resulting from the government’s actions (e.g., more border fences, more shows of force in large border cities, etc.) are the norm?

KJ