JUNE 2018

YOUR letters
Thank you
Many thanks to Congressman John
Moolenaar for his compassionate recent
article in the Chaldean News.
He correctly points out the hardship
to our community when deporting
Chaldeans who may
have committed offenses
decades ago,
but have since built
a law-abiding life, especially
if they have
U.S. born spouses
and kids. We should
all thank him for his
efforts in introducing
a bipartisan House
resolution calling for
the end of those detentions.
I would also
urge the Congressman
to look at the
source of the problem: a rather harsh
immigration law enacted in 1996
where someone might be uprooted
from his family and deported to another
country he hardly knows. This
might happen due to mistakes or
“Let’s be more compassionate
to those who may have
committed mistakes long time
ago, but had since repented,
paid their dues to society, and
have since established a new,
law-abiding life.”
conviction for offenses U.S. citizen
might only get probation for. While
the Chaldean community experienced
the harshness of this law first
hand, many others of different nationalities
had been equally affected
and suffered by it. Let’s be more compassionate
to those who may have
committed mistakes long time ago,
but had since repented, paid their
dues to society, and have since established
a new, law-abiding life.
– N. Peter Antone
JUNE 2018 CHALDEAN NEWS 7