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Dear visitor,
There is a serious problem going on now in this country regarding the deportation of immigrants and refugees who commit crimes. Although some of these deportees are being sent away for what some may consider to be just reasons, MOST of them are people who are good, hard-working, and positive contributors to society. MOST of the deportees are simple people who made a single mistake, and are being deported for extremely petty crimes such as shoplifting, minor drug possession, and public urination. These are NOT terrible enough crimes to warrant deportation and banishment from our shores.
In the November 16, 2003 issue of the New York Times Magazine, there was an article written by Deborah Sontag. This article featured a Cambodian-American man by the name of Loeun Lun. The article describes his hardships (along with the hardships of others) in the US. This article has recently made it's way to the internet. PLEASE take a few moments and read the article HERE. It is rather long, but believe me, it is worth the read.
Now. I love my country. Please don't misunderstand. I am a true believer in this country and love, appreciate, and respect it. Sometimes, however, there are situations like these when I think bureaucracy and paranoia gets in the way of intelligence and what's right. To sum up the story (the one you hopefully just read), this was a young man who made a foolish mistake. Don't we all?!?! Who among us didn't make a dumb mistake (or a few of them) when we were younger? So, he makes a mistake, PAYS his penance to society, gets out of jail, does something good, productive, and positive with his life afterwords, goes for his citizenship, and then gets arrested and deported?!?!?! What is going on here?
Put simply, folks: This is a tragedy that we cannot allow to happen. The Bartlett Family is outraged by this and has pledged whatever support we can to fixing this situation, and changing the law. Our goal is 5,000 signatures. Once we get enough people on board, this petition will be taken to Representative Martin Meehan so that he can further the fight in Congress against this ludicrous law. This is important to us, and as citizens of this land, it should be important to you, too. This was a good man, who was on the right track in life. He was making good decisions, working hard, and raising a family. Now, he has been sent to his "home" country. No, sir Uncle Sam... The United States of America was this man's home country. Please sign below, and let it be his home again...
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Sincerely,