19, pregnant, and illegal?

[I failed to publish this draft blog entry last summer. Oops.]

In the AJC this morning (Thursday, June 16, 2011) was an essay (http://www.ajc.com/opinion/some-immigration-reform-legally-979256.html) by a pastor, Steve deClaissé-Walford, who was concerned that the growing animus directed toward illegal aliens is sometimes misdirected. He cites the case of Nati (as the author calls her), an illegal alien who was brought here by her parents 12 years ago. Nati is now 19, pregnant, and facing deportation.

According to the pastor, we are supposed to feel sorry for Nati and set aside the law. His reasoning, as near as I can tell, is that she should be allowed to stay in this country because she had no choice in coming here, has been here for 12 years and legally attended school here. And did I mention: pregnant?

Pastor  deClaissé-Walford tries hard to paint a specific picture of Nati specifically and young illegals in general:

Overnight, they go from being carefree teenagers to people haunted by the ever-present specter of arrest and deportation. What is a young person in this situation supposed to do? Do they “out” themselves with the likely consequence of forced repatriation to a culture they know little or nothing about, a country that speaks a language with which they may be totally unfamiliar? Or do they keep the secret, in constant fear of being discovered, living ever after in the shadow of the threat that the very fabric of their lives may be destroyed through one false move?

Call me cynical, and I am, but let me cast a different light on poor Nati’s situation.

Nati was caught for a traffic violation (headlight issue) and "The next thing she knew, she was in jail.”  According to the article "She gave a false name, hoping to conceal her status." But going to jail is what usually happens to people who lie to police--be they an illegal alien or citizen. Lying to police was simply the penultimate charge against her, as she was also driving without a license and had the original traffic violation.

As a part of immigration law, under section 287(g), local law enforcement soon determined that she was an illegal alien and turned her over to federal authorities.

Despite the pastor's attempt to portray Nati as a scared, innocent young woman, there are several issues that belie that carefully crafted image. First, as the pastor does mention, is the fact that Nati is pregnant. That cynic in me is forced to wonder about that:

• is the pastor OK with the out-of-wedlock pregnancy? 
• is the father a citizen or is he also an illegal?
• is the pregnancy a deliberate attempt to create an "anchor baby"?
• is Nati (and the mysterious father) financially prepared to raise a child or will the child first breath be accompanied by government checks?

What the pastor fails to mention is that before her May 2011 arrest, young Nati had already had at least two other brushes with law enforcement before this episode. She was previously arrested on two separate occasions for shoplifting (May of 2010 and February of 2011). Those arrests were as an adult and a matter of public record, but it impossible to know if she was ever in trouble with the law as a juvenile. However it is clear that Nati is no angel.

It was wrong for Nati’s parents to decide to break a score of US, state, and local laws—many on a daily basis—in the dozen years they have eluded law enforcement in this country.It’s a shame that Nati has chosen to become pregnant, apparently out of wedlock. It’s a shame that Nati’s family was not located soon after their temporary visa expired, because clearly then none of this would have happened. Nati's "situation" is entirely one of her parent's making.

Another question in my mind is now that they've identified Nati as an illegal immigrant why have her parents not also been located and face deportation as well? Also, why was her status not determined in either of her previous arrests?