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Border issue prompts memories

5 min read

Just when you thought the political divide in this country couldn’t get any wider, along comes another issue which has Americans yelling and screaming at each other.

The latest issue that has everyone frothing at the mouth is President Obama’s proposal to spend $3.7 billion to deal with tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors who’ve been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border from poor and increasingly violent Central American nations.

At first, it seemed the proposal was a no-brainer. But then Republicans said they were opposed to the package unless assurances were made that the unaccompanied minors would be quickly sent back to their home countries.

Democrats, on the other hand, contended the changes weren’t needed and the young people should be treated fairly with due process.

So, the debate was on, heating up web sites and blogs across the country, including our own Facebook page. There, the comments came fast and furious with many people ridiculing those with opposing views as usual.

I’ll admit I’m no expert on the subject, but I agree with both sides of this issue to a degree.  It’s obvious that we can’t open our borders up to everyone who wants in. We have trouble taking care of our own people, and we can’t even begin to start feeding and housing the entire world.

We simply must find a way to make our borders more secure and allow only immigrants who come into our country legally. Of course, that’s much easier said than done.

But can’t anyone with an ounce of compassion feel sympathy for those young people who are coming to the United States in fear of their life back in Central America. I know we can’t take all of them in, but can’t we at least help some of them?

So, I’ve been wavering back and forth. But then I saw one post that caught my attention and got me somewhat riled up.

“Our country was founded by legal immigrants who went through Ellis Island, not a bunch of illegal people with God knows what diseases. They weren’t sneaking across borders. They were registered.”

That got me to remember my grandmother coming from Ireland when she was 17…alone. Think about that for a moment.

I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about my grandmother’s journey, although I sure wish I did. My grandmother died when I was 13 so I was a little young for any such talk. My mom also never really talked about it much before she died, and for some stupid reason, I never really asked. Of course, now I’d love to know about every step of that fantastic voyage, but it’s a little too late for that.

All I know is she came to America on her own when she was 17. As much as I can remember, she eventually made her way to Pittsburgh where she married my grandfather and moved to Monaca in Beaver County. He later died in a mill accident, leaving her with eight children to raise.

How she did that was a miracle. She never really had a job, having to stay at home and take care of her eight children. She did take in boarders and did some washing and ironing to help make ends meet. My uncles helped out by getting jobs as soon as they were able. The family got by somehow.

I have fond memories of my grandmother as being a happy woman full of joy and love. if there was sadness anywhere in her life, she certainly hid it well. Her children gave her 34 grandchildren, whom she loved unconditionally. Now she has who-knows how many great-grandchildren and possibly great-great-grandchildren spread across this country, doing all sorts of interesting and wonderful things.

Doubtless, there are many similar tales told across this  region. Remember Fayette County’s population exploded from 58,842 people in 1880 to 200,999 by 1940. The boom was fueled by immigrants from all over the world, mainly from southern and eastern Europe.

I admit to not knowing the full immigration laws back then or now, but something tells me that immigration laws just might have been a bit more lax back then. It has to be much harder for immigrants to get in this country now than it was back then.  So, cool it with “my ancestors came over legally,” talk.

It all makes me wonder if someone hadn’t taken a chance on a 17-year-old Irish girl coming into this country alone? What would have happened to her? What would have happened to me? What would have happened to many of us if a customs agent hadn’t taken a chance a long time ago?

Mark O’Keefe is the editorial page editor of the Herald-Standard. He can be reached by email at mokeefe@heraldstandard.

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