A very good friend of mine emailed me a link to a letter to the editor that was recently sent to a local newspaper.
I should explain that my friend is an attorney at a Public Defender's Office, also located in California. Originally she sent me this letter because she was curious to know how I felt about it.
I won't post a direct link to the letter, but I am posting it below (with just a few changes to hide the identity of people named in the story) so you can read it for yourself. Of course anyone with a little net savvy will be able to pull up the newspaper it came from but I'm not too concerned with hiding that (or I wouldn't be posting this at all)..just read the letter first:
My friend then told me that the person who wrote this letter, is a new Deputy Public Defender that was hired to work at her office.
Okay, now this bothers me.
I should probably add that her office is one that routinely represents undocumented immigrants on a regular basis. Will our new Public Defender be able to maintain a professional relationship with her clients and not throw them under the bus when push comes to shove?
My friend asked if it would be wise to anonymously mail a copy of the letter to the supervisors in her office in the hopes that they would have an idea that the fresh faced PD they just hired was also disgusted enough by undocumented immigrants in the United States to write a letter to a newspaper, sign his/her name to it, then decide to work in an office that represents those same people when they are fighting for their livelihood and sometimes even their lives.
I wish I had the balls to mail the letter for her but I don't think its really my place....and maybe I'm just overreacting. Am I?
I should explain that my friend is an attorney at a Public Defender's Office, also located in California. Originally she sent me this letter because she was curious to know how I felt about it.
I won't post a direct link to the letter, but I am posting it below (with just a few changes to hide the identity of people named in the story) so you can read it for yourself. Of course anyone with a little net savvy will be able to pull up the newspaper it came from but I'm not too concerned with hiding that (or I wouldn't be posting this at all)..just read the letter first:
Kudos to Mary Carey for her letter regarding enforcing our immigration laws . I was happy to see that others were just as outraged about the horrible accident that injured Mrs. Carey. Incidents like this should make us all open our eyes and start talking about these touchy issues. Every night I read the police and fire section of the paper and always there are Hispanic names, and I have to wonder: Are all these offending parties here legally?My friend just wanted to know how I felt about the letter, so I told her, Well, the whole Hispanic names part of the letter bothered me but I couldn't hold it against the letter writer. Its just a letter to the editor and obviously this person felt strongly enough about her feelings to express them to a major newspaper...its just how this person feels...I find the letter writer more than just a bit uninformed but there is nothing illegal about that.
Why are we doing so little to enforce immigration laws, or are they not tough enough to make an impact? After Mr. Lopez serves his sentence for the hit and run and is deported, there is little to stop him from returning here. So while he’ll get a slap on the wrist, Mrs. Carey faces a lifetime of dealing with the aftermath of losing both her legs. I don’t know what to suggest to solve this problem, but we have a serious problem with crime committed by illegal immigrants, and we can’t wait for changes to be made, we need to make them now!
My friend then told me that the person who wrote this letter, is a new Deputy Public Defender that was hired to work at her office.
Okay, now this bothers me.
I should probably add that her office is one that routinely represents undocumented immigrants on a regular basis. Will our new Public Defender be able to maintain a professional relationship with her clients and not throw them under the bus when push comes to shove?
My friend asked if it would be wise to anonymously mail a copy of the letter to the supervisors in her office in the hopes that they would have an idea that the fresh faced PD they just hired was also disgusted enough by undocumented immigrants in the United States to write a letter to a newspaper, sign his/her name to it, then decide to work in an office that represents those same people when they are fighting for their livelihood and sometimes even their lives.
I wish I had the balls to mail the letter for her but I don't think its really my place....and maybe I'm just overreacting. Am I?
4 comments:
soon enough someone will google it.
Hm Random .02 from out here, but I would say two things:
1) Political attitudes don't necessarily inform work choices.
1)a) I think "1)" is a bit naive and they do but they shouldn't.
2) If your friend feels bad enough about bringing this letter to her boss' attention that she wants to do it anonymously, then I would say that she doesn't believe she's doing the right thing.
My advise is for her to just send the clipping to her boss with a note saying "this is interesting" or something along those lines and no other comment.
Melissa- Hola chica, and you're sooo very right
Kristina- I mostly agree with 1 but for me it goes beyond political choices. We're talking about people who are illegally in a country and the person that is going to represent them and protect their rights in court doesn't believe they should be there....wondering if someone is undocumented every time they hear a Hispanic name is so overboard, its frightening. It just feels like someone who is clearly out of touch.
2) You are absolutely right, and I believe thats what she chose to do.
Get me the letter and I'll send it. You know I like to stir the pot...
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