Posted on 04/10/2006 6:52:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
14-year-old Inland middle school student who killed himself after telling his mother he might be jailed for joining a student walkout is being held up as a symbol by some who support immigrant rights.
"He was just fighting for his rights," Louise Corales said of her son, Anthony Soltero, after a standing-room-only Palm Sunday Mass for the teen at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ontario. "He would be proud that we are here now to honor him because he is a hero."
Then she leaned weeping into the arms of her husband, Victor Corales, as Anthony's father, Jaime Soltero, of Long Beach, looked on.
Thousands of students walked off campuses in the final week of March to show opposition to HR 4437, a proposed law that would make it a criminal offense to be or help an undocumented immigrant.
"This young boy's sacrifice is the sacrifice of a martyr," said Moctesuma Esparza, an organizer of the East Los Angeles student walkouts in 1968 and a co-producer of "Walkout," the recent HBO movie based on the events surrounding the political awakening of Mexican-Americans at that time.
Anthony's death would help unify Latinos and immigrants in support of children's rights to demonstrate, Esparza said at a news conference at the church.
Anthony, of Ontario, had joined a walkout at DeAnza Middle School on March 28 against his mother's wishes. On March 30, a school administrator told him he could be barred from graduation and jailed, and his parents could be fined, said family attorney Sonia Mercado.
The civil-rights lawyer represents Corales in efforts to obtain answers from the school and Ontario-Montclair School District about the discipline proposed for her son. The school has been on spring break for the past week, and the parents and lawyers have yet to present their questions to administrators, the lawyer said.
The afternoon of March 30, Anthony called his mother to tell her what the administrator had told him, then shot himself in the head before she arrived home, Mercado said.
"Schools should not be a place where our children are punished if they do what they are taught to do, which is to participate peacefully in demonstrations," Mercado told reporters gathered at the church.
Officials of the school and the school district could not be reached Sunday to comment on Anthony's death or describe how it would discipline students who walked out.
Anthony was helpful at home, and made coffee for his mother, a cosmetologist, on Monday, the day before the walkout, she said. Anthony loved sports, he enjoyed cooking and playing with his siblings, his friends said. His funeral is today in Long Beach.
The student march in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday will be dedicated to Anthony's memory, said Javier Rodriguez, spokesman for the March 25 Coalition, which organized last month's massive demonstration there. Sunday's march in San Diego by another group also was dedicated to the boy, he said.
Ontario High School freshman Annabel Loza, 15, spoke with Anthony for the last time about 2 p.m. on March 30. He told her he faced one year in juvenile hall for participating in the walkout.
"He told me he was going to be OK," she said, wearing a memorial T-shirt printed with his school photo. "He wasn't upset, he was kind of sad, kind of depressed."
Mercado's law partner, attorney Samuel Paz, acknowledged that Anthony's family and four friends have given different versions of the boy's prospective punishment. Paz, and other lawyers, having spoken with the mother and four students who spoke with Anthony before his death, said the jail threat was three years.
"In a certain way, he is a symbol," said the Rev. Alex Castillo after the Mass. Children who are citizens but see Congress attempt to pass laws that would criminalize friends or family members who are undocumented could react badly, he said.
"It's not what we want, but with this bill, the consequences could be worse. Some kids become depressed, some are always being put down."
Louise Corales, center, weeps during a news conference in Ontario on Sunday as she holds a picture of her son, Anthony Soltero, who shot himself on March 30. Also present at the new conference is Anthony's father, Jaime Soltero, left.
A person who kills himself is by definition not a martyr.
/truth.
forgot the :o) so you don't take that the wrong way. :o)
He is to blame for his death. But if people must blame someone else they can blame the lawbreakers who decided that they would encourage kids to support them.
Not one of the sharper knives in the drawer eh. BTW if he was here illegally he shouldn't have any rights.
These political prostitutes are exploiting the death of a severely emotionally disturbed kid. It reminds me of the Muslims who exploit the deaths of sick "suicide bombers" by calling them martyrs.
The lack of interest by the liberal hacks in the press as to how Soltero gained possession of a gun is curious.
Although his life ended tragically due to his own stupidity and inability to see beyond life challenges, maybe he deserves a "Darwin Award?"
Seriously, though, the article did not mention whether the dead boy's mother and step-father would be charged for leaving a gun and ammunition (no mention of whether it was already loaded) easily accessible to children. What if the boy had shot at someone else instead of himself?
They needed a Martyr, he provided them with one.
Doesn't sound like he was cooking on all four burners ... if you know what I mean. I'm not suprised he stood up for ILLEGAL aliens. Wonder if he knew what the word ILLEGAL means?
Doesn't sound like he was cooking on all four burners ... if you know what I mean. I'm not surprised he stood up for ILLEGAL aliens. Wonder if he knew what the word ILLEGAL means?
Ah, so that's why he was afraid of getting detention for 3 years or not being allowed to attend graduation or a school trip to Disneyland. (the above article used the term "jail" instead of "detention" which I heard on the radio.)
The lack of interest by the liberal hacks in the press as to how Soltero gained possession of a gun is curious.
Indeed. Also, there seems to be no interest in punishing the parents (or mother and stepfather, if the boy lived only with them) for endangering the lives of others by leaving a firearm and ammunition where a child could find them.
It's just a matter of time now before someone comes forward with a burnt piece of toast or a potato chip that depicts Soltero's image.
[My comments self-censored]
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