Preface to An Apology

Maribel Nava Alvarez is an illegal alien hiding out somewhere in America. And her story that came out in news reports last week has absolutely infuriated me. Her story has also finally given me the ability me to put into words why I am so angry. I am not mad at Maribel at all, but instead I’ve had my fill of all the things I and so many others have done, in good conscience, to allow her to feel she, an illegal alien, is entitled to anything at all.

You see, Maribel won a July 4, 2005 raffle of a 1999 silver Corvette, once owned by Mexican-American singer Juan Rivera, from Chicago’s Spanish-only-speaking WLEY “La Ley”107.9 FM. When the radio station was unable to report the car’s value on her IRS taxes because Maribel doesn’t have a legal social security number, the radio station cancelled her win. The car is probably valued in excess of its baseline $20,000 blue book estimate, and any win valued over $500 must be reported as per federal law.

What did young Maribel do? Well, she filed suit, of course. The radio station and its parent company, the Spanish Broadcasting System, were served with a Breach of Contract claim. Maribel claims the radio station never told her she had to be a legal citizen to enter the raffle. But wait! There’s more!

When SBS attorney James Cueva sent Maribel’s lawyers a letter this past December, in which he wrote the following statement, “I will caution you that if you insist on filing suit against SBS, I will in turn be forced to refer this matter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as I believe your client is in this country illegally," Maribel, through her attorneys, added “Emotional Distress” to the claims in their suit.

Maribel’s “emotional distress” is because of her need (and I’d bet my house this came on the advice of her legal counsel, too) to flee her home in Little Village, perhaps the largest Hispanic residential area in the entire Midwest and located on the west side of Chicago. Maribel is “emotionally distressed” because she fears being deported.

Ironically, Maribel is suing one of the most outspoken supporters of amnesty on the Latino airwaves. It’s kind of like biting the hand that has been feeding her all these years. Tragically, Maribel, who already has birthed two children in America at the age of 22, has at some point been diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer.

The new catchphrase these days seems to be “undocumented resident,” which sounds a lot nicer that its factual definition of “illegal alien.” Call it whatever you wish, Maribel sneaked over our Mexico-US border at the age of seven, has been educated by our public schools, and has been living here ILLEGALLY ever since, working ILLEGALLY most recently for a laundry service near her home in Chicago.

Maribel shares her life story with many millions just like her. And America’s Road to Hell is being solidly paved with our good intentions to help her and the many millions just like her.

My letter and my apology are entirely sincere.