Hola! Mi amigos, Que te Pasa?

Ford’s Focus By Hunter Ford, Hoover Gazette ©2007 Hoover Gazette - Used with Permission

Hello friends. What’s the matter with us in this country? I was driving down Lorna Road the other day listening to talk radio and as I looked over to the side and saw dozens of the ever-present Amigos loitering around, waiting for day work, I had this thought; what is the matter with us Americans?
The babble on the radio was centered on perceived problems we are having in this country. Folks were going on about gas prices, about the war in Iraq, about this and that and yada, yada, yada.
As I looked at the Amigos, laughing and cutting up with each other, I thought “These guys look pretty content. Why is it that everyday on television news and talk radio and in newspaper columns (like this one) people are droning on about what’s so bad about this country? And if it is really that danged bad, why are the Amigos falling all over themselves to get here and hang out on the street corner?
Things must be pretty good here in their eyes. Heck our Congress is debating whether to just go ahead and give them the keys to the country. Why wouldn’t they be happy?
I like to use this space for provocative commentary, for humorous observations, for poignant expression of thought. It can be a grind week after week trying to come up with something worthwhile to say. This week, “no tengo ninguna idea”…just some random observations.
Why is it that we are now drug testing red-blooded American teenagers for no reason other than to be nosy, but we can’t establish reasonable suspicion to deport a bunch of illegal immigrants?
I was told by law enforcement officers that they can’t just arrest people for standing around on Lorna Road. Okay, but the police department fully endorses randomly drug testing high school students just because (gasp!) they want to drive to school.
I “no entiendo” this concept.
It seems to me it should be pretty easy to establish reasonable suspicion that there are a lot of illegal immigrants clogging up the scenery on Lorna Road.
Perhaps an astute law enforcement officer could park his Tahoe across the street from one of the apartment complexes. That brilliant sleuth could then observe Amigos waking up early, congregating outside in their work clothes, waiting to be picked up.
Kojak could then further observe that most of these Amigos “no hablas Ingles.”
Then, he could watch the Amigos swarm like moths to a flame when trucks and vans pull up. Next he could wait until afternoon when they all return back to Lorna Road with wads of cash money and pour into local shops and grocery stores to spend it. Then he could stop them and check their identification, worker’s permits, green cards… whatever it takes. If they are not working legally, do something about it.
I “no entiendo” why this is such a leap for law enforcement. Congress has broadened police power for things like domestic surveillance, “si?” If it such a grand idea to spy on American civilians, shake us down every time we go into an airport or courthouse, why is it such a hurdle to sort out illegal immigrants boldly flaunting their activities in broad daylight?
Wait. I am drifting way off of my original course. What is wrong with us in this country? Why do we complain so much? Everybody in this country who doesn’t like it can “callate” and leave. Delta has flights everyday, if you can get through security.
We should not be obsessed with our Amigos from across the border. We should grant them amnesty, cut them some slack and expand social services for them. Then we can refocus on the biggest threat in this country; teenagers driving to school dosed on Ritalin and puffing Camels.
Listen folks, “no se preocupe” everything in the grand old USA is just rosy and couldn’t get any better. “Estoy enfermo y cansado” of all you malcontents. Until next time, “Adios Amigos! Hasta Pronto! And Salud!”