Letter to the Editor:

I am aghast at providing 16 year old and younger children, without legal citizenship, freely given citizenship by our Congress.

The children they are addressing are those children brought into the United States illegally. I say send them back to their country of origin. Why am I so cold-hearted about this, you may well ask?

I was a teacher for many, many years, working with children with special needs. One of my students was from another country, and it was my belief she and her family were here illegally. Also, I had a small boy from another country who seemed to be here illegally. In their admission records, I noted several inconsistencies with birth certificates etc. I brought the inconsistencies to the attention of our school secretary. She told me to forget it, no one cares and won't do a thing about it.

During the time I had the two students, their parents demanded all kinds of special equipment and services. Their attitude was one of entitlement. Sure the kids were needy, as were the other twenty six needy children I had in my classroom. Most of my students came from low income American families, who had a very hard time coming up with school supplies, let alone the equipment they needed. It irritated me to no end that the school system bent over backwards to make sure the suspected illegal children received everything their parents demanded, while American children were doing without.

There is a specific cost associated with educating a child for each school year. If the school has several illegal children in their classroom, then the American children are not getting the education for which their parents pay taxes. The American children are doing without, to educate someone whose parents have broken our laws. I find this despicable behavior towards one's own citizens.

School systems are suffering intolerably under financial burdens, some schools are closing, some are asking their employees, right up to administration to double up on duties and being required to work at more than one school. Yet our government is going to give children, who are not legal citizens, a reward, citizenship. Being an American Citizen, I take that as a slap in the face by our Congress, to all our own American needy children. Since when does a person, who is breaking our laws, become entitled to benefits that Congress won't give their own needy citizens?

If it were my decision who gets the benefit of our taxes, it would be our own citizens. Take the money that is paid in a school system to educate the illegal kids and give it to the parents of our own citizens, who have lost their jobs and cannot feed our American Children! It would be put to better use. Send the illegals home and let their president provide for them. It is neither our desire nor obligation to continue to support illegal aliens living in this country.

You know, I find it strange in this country that the legal citizens outnumber the most rich and influential, the Congress, the Administration, etc. and yet they cower down to the idiocies of these people. We have the massive forces to make change and rid ourselves of these parasites, who freely give to people who break our laws, yet most sit passively and watch this happen. I would love to see the American People get up off their butts, organize, and do some good for our country. Tell your Congressmen and Congresswomen, NO, NO, NO, we don't support "The Dream Act." It is no dream for American citizens!

Valerie Gamblin
Cleveland, TN


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