On the Other Hand

By Nancy Spencer, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Monday, October 1, 2007 (7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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I just read a story online about an illegal alien who had lived in the United States for 11 years, saved $59,000 working as a dishwasher and then wanted to go back to Guatemala with the money he saved. By the way, he didn’t pay any taxes while he was here.
He was detained in an airport while trying to take the money (cash in a duffel bag) onto a plane.
It seems you have to declare any cash totaling more than $10,000 when traveling by air. It was a simple, one-page form.
Pedro Zapeta was caught between a rock and a hard place. He wasn’t a resident so he had little recourse. Once he lost his money, proceedings were started to have him deported.
The U.S. District Attorney’s Office offered to give him $10,000 of the money and $9,000 in donations to leave the country and not talk to the press. The IRS said, “Wait just a minute. We want our cut from his earnings.”
Go figure.
I’m not being sarcastic.
Zapeta was here illegally. He could have become a citizen in the time he spent here. Instead, he chose to work and not pay taxes and then take the rest of the money back to his country instead of reinvesting in the country that had been good to him. A country in which he had seen opportunity. It must have been better than his own.
He saved a little less than $5,200 a year while he was here. How many of you have saved that much this year? I know I haven’t.
Marisol Zequeira, an immigration lawyer, said illegal immigrants like Zapeta have few options when dealing with the U.S. government.
“When you are poor, uneducated and illegal, your avenues are cut,” she said.
Ya think?
What avenues should you have when you are in a counry illegally and are breaking the law?
I don’t know the answer to the illegal immigration problem in this country. What I do know is what we have been doing isn’t working. More and more people are slipping by our borders.
Some say they perform jobs most U.S. citizens feel are beneath them. That may be true. However, if a U.S. citizen was doing the job, the employer would be more likely to file paperwork and the taxes would be paid. They wouldn’t be trying to hide anything either.
It’s not just the tax issue. Far from it. Being an American is about standing on your own two feet and making your way.
If you want to live “The American Dream,” come to America, become a citizen, work and pay taxes and contribute to the society you want to be a part of. Pull your own weight. It’s part of the dream. There are dues to pay for the dream. The dream is not free. Sometimes it’s very hard to reach. It’s work and it’s sacrifice. It’s something we take pride in. It’s part of who we are. It’s being an American.
I just want people to try and do the right thing as much as possible.
The story never said whether Zapeta had enjoyed living here or wished he could stay.
He said the money was going to be used to buy land in his coutnry so he could build a house for his mother and sister.
It could be the truth. He did work very hard for 11 years. He had determination. He just went about it the wrong way.
He said after the ordeal that he didn’t feel good about America anymore.
Some will feel sorry for him and think he should get his money.
Others will say he got what he deserved.
I’m just sorry that Zapeta feels life has treated him unfairly.
But then again, life doesn’t always seem fair to me, either.

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