ON THE SIDE OF ANGELS
Use empty seats at State of Union for victims of illegal immigrant crime
Instead of honoring tradition, a growing number of liberal lawmakers have announced they’re boycotting the upcoming State of the Union Address. These self-serving members of Congress would rather grandstand and score cheap political points than support our nation. Or Heaven forbid — our president.
This includes Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) — who called for President Trump’s impeachment before he was even sworn into office — as well as Pramila Jayapal (DWash.), John Lewis (Ga.), Frederica Wilson (Fla.) and Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), all of whom are protesting Trump’s indelicate remark in a private discussion of immigration policies affecting certain Third-World nations. Instead of acknowledging that Trump wants to reform failed immigration policies that put American citizens at risk and pivot to a merit-based system, his detractors have shifted back to their “Trump’s a racist” narrative now that their Russian conspiracy theories have fallen apart.
But Trump shouldn’t let them have the last word.
At the State of the Union Jan. 30 he should fill lawmakers’ vacant seats with Angel Moms and other American citizens who’ve lost their loved ones to criminal illegal immigrants. After all, these families are the real stakeholders at the epicenter of the immigration debate.
They include the Denice family of Milford, whose son Matthew was dragged to death by a drunk illegal immigrant in 2011. Or the family of Jamiel Shaw, a 17-year-old football player who was gunned down by an illegal immigrant in 2008 in Arlington Heights, Los Angeles. And then there’s Kate Steinle’s family. The man accused of killing her was deported five times — and thanks to a jury in the sanctuary city of San Francisco that bought his lawyers’ argument it was an accident, he was acquitted of murder and even involuntary manslaughter.
There are other American families whose lives have been forever shattered. Many whose stories remain largely untold by left-leaning media, in keeping with the Democratic party’s desire to expand its voter base by legalizing as many future Democrats as they can.
Yes, it’s about votes and those who stop at nothing to win elections and retain power.
No matter, Trump should take the vacant seats as an opportunity to tell the stories the partisan media won’t — but Americans need to hear. After all, we can’t have national security without border security. Nor can we allow those who wish us harm to exploit our dysfunctional immigration system.