Posted on 06/02/2006 1:31:42 PM PDT by hispanarepublicana
CBN News --SANTA ANA California – It is an image that is hard to forget: illegal immigrants by the thousands demanding legal citizenship. But American patriotism seemed to be lost in a sea of flags from South of the border.
This has led many Americans to wonder where these protesters pledged their allegiance – to America or Mexico?
More than half of the 12 million illegal immigrants come from Mexico, and 22 percent come from the rest of Latin America. That means 78 percent of the illegals are Hispanic.
This is Santa Ana, California, not Mexico. But sights and sounds can be deceiving. Three out of every four people here are Mexican, and Spanish is the main language. In California, most immigrants say they identify with their country of origin.
Only 20 percent say they identify or feel American. But in a city that is predominately Mexican, one woman here stands out: a Latino as patriotic as they come. A sign in her front yard reads "English for the children."
Lupe Moreno is considered a traitor by her people. She went from Latino housewife to flag- waving American. She has devoted her life to keeping illegals out of the country. The story of how she got to this place is just as much amazing as it is painful.
Lupe was born in America. Her father, a Mexican illegal who ran a smuggling operation, brought an untold number of illegal immigrants into her home. She was abused by many of them.
"I was totally terrified of life. Totally," Lupe said.
Eventually, Lupe moved beyond her painful childhood. She began reading about America's history, a history she fell in love with. And she worked for social services and saw how illegals were abusing the system.
Her patriotism bothered her husband, who was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. After 26 years of marriage, they divorced because he insisted she call herself Mexican.
"I would say no,” Lupe said. “I'm an American. And then, there was one time I thought I was going to be able to say it. We both looked at each other, and I said ‘I'm sorry.’”
CBN News: In those times that you read those books about America and about this country, it means a lot to you?
Lupe: Absolutely. Absolutely. Men and women have died to give us all these rights. They blessed us. They planted the seeds.
So Lupe charted a new course for her life. She became head of Latino Americans for Immigration Reform and became a full-fledged Minuteman, patrolling the border.
Lupe Moreno stays extremely active in this immigration fight. She travels all over the country speaking out on this issue. We've followed her here to Crawford, Texas, home to President Bush's ranch.
The rally is called “Rumble at the Ranch," an opportunity for her and hundreds of others to make their voices heard.
Lupe is among friends here. All of them here say loyalty to America must come first.
Frank George, a Minuteman, said, "They need to be a part of this country. Feel it in their heart. Think American. Act American."
"There's absolutely no loyalty coming from illegal immigrants," said Minuteman Maria Martinez.
Consider recent examples. In Oceanside, California, the school district banned all flags and patriotic clothing so as not to upset the Mexican students. In Colorado and some other states, the American flag is not allowed, so children from other countries are not offended.
Linda Chavez has been writing about the immigration problem for 30 years. "I think most Americans get very concerned when they think newcomers don't really want to be American," Chavez said.
She says part of the problem is that school administrators cave in to liberal groups demanding equal time between their cultural history and American history.
"A lot of elected leaders have been looking towards the ethnic niche and not wanting to offend anybody,” said Chavez, “and so they have been promoting multiculturalism…For Mexican Americans, they were taught to think of Benito Juarez as the father of their country, not George Washington."
Washington addressed this question more than 200 years ago saying, "Whereas by an intermixture with our people, they, or their descendants, get assimilated to our customs, measures, laws: in a word, soon become one people."
And President Theodore Roosevelt once told a gathering, "There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, is not an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag."
That is how Lupe and the Minutemen see it, but there is another side to the story.
We're at the Cinco de Mayo festivities in Pasadena, California. Here there is no shortage of Latino pride. At events like this, you'll find a man by the name of Nativo Lopez.
His critics call him the "Hispanic" Al Sharpton. Lopez is an outspoken Latino leader on a crusade to bring all illegal immigrants into this country, and he is making no apologies along the way.
Nativo supports teaching kids in Spanish, even though the majority of Latinos actually want their children taught in English. He is supportive of the new pro-immigrant Spanish version of the Star Spangled Banner. He also supports the protesters who carried the Mexican flags.
Lopez said, "I would never, ever in my life tell someone, leave your flag at home, bring the new flag. Encourage people to bring what they're proud of."
He says that illegals carry the Mexican flag because they feel like victims, being told they are no good, and to go back home.
"The fact of the matter,” said Lopez, “is that the vast majority of folks who are participating in these protests are clamoring to become Americans.”
It is leading to a debate that has turned nasty at times.
An immigrant protester yelled, "Minutemen, go away. Immigrants are here to stay!"
"This is the place where we celebrate the red, white, and blue,” a minuteman said, "Not the red, white, and green."
In the meantime, with an American culture that feels more Spanish everyday, the assimilation process ahead becomes a daunting challenge.
CBN News asked Chavez what the danger was, if the immigrants want to stay in their isolated communities, and Chavez replied, “Well, that has never been the American way. The reason we have worked as a great immigrant-ingathering nation is that we've been willing to take people from every part of the world. But we've expected them to join us -- to join our family, to learn our language, to adopt our civic values, and to become American."
Lupe Moreno said, "I've talked to young men who tell me that if we go to war against a foreign nation, they'll fight for this nation. But if we go to war with Mexico, they will fight for Mexico. And that's totally crazy."
The challenges are steep, but for Lupe and others, it is a patriotic fight worth fighting to keep America united.
ping
ping
No, the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the folks who are participating in these protests are NOT clamoring to become Americans. If they were, they'd have done it legally many years ago so their children wouldn't have to worry about their parents being deported.
Yup, we have such a shortage of victims we absolutely need to import more! /sarc indeed....
susie
BTTT
God Bless Lupe!! But L.I.A.R.??
How does one get the "spokesman for an entire ethnic group" gig? I want to appoint myself the go-to guy for all media queries regarding what Norwegians think about anything.
Most legal immigrants never become citizens. They never become loyal to America.
LAIR - Not LIAR
Reminds me of Neil Young who has lived in the US for decades while remaining Canadian.
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
Sorry!! I swear I'm not dislexic...
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
L.A.I.R
BTTT
Lupe apparently is an exception who proves the rule as she so lucidly expounds.
This is NOT an argument about "immigrants" or "immigration". Its an argument about illegal invaders, loyalty to America and assimilation.
Immigrants - people who come here LEGALLY and WANT TO BE AMERICANS have and always will be the life blood of America. We will always need them. How many we do need at any given time is another issue.
The problem here is illegal invaders and we should stop allowing people like Chavez and Bush and their fellow-travlers to control the argument by referring to these invaders continually as immigrants which extends to them a legitimacy they do not merit and which most certainly is inaccurate.
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