As I was driving listening to the local talk radio station here in Houston, as I often will do, I heard something that was thought provoking and appalling. The radio host said He believes Katrina “immigrants” are more detrimental to the City of Houston than illegal immigrants. The basis of his argument was the recently released crime statistics. According to his data, 1 in 5 murders since November (when the Katrina victims arrived) can be attributed to Katrina “refugees.” He went back and forth between “immigrants” and “refugees” when describing “them.” He also stated Katrina “refugees” are “mooching” off of the City of Houston. As African-American callers began to accuse him of being racist, he said the “race card” was being played. He also conveniently didn’t have any statistics summarizing crime that can be attributed to illegal immigrants. These were his arguments. I listened, I thought, and I realized that any idiot in America can guest host a talk show! Elmer Fud could have commented the show and been more balanced and objective describing Daffy Duck! I did not get an opportunity to call into the show, but I wanted to highlight the problems with his arguments.

1. Katrina victims are not “immigrants” as he constantly called them, they are just as American as you and I. Immigrants flee their country, Katrina victims were forced out of their homes.

2. Katrina victims lost their homes because of the rising water when the faulty levees in New Orleans broke, illegal immigrants gladly swim through the water to cross the border.

3. Katrina victims pay taxes (even if some of them were on governmental assistance), illegal immigrants do not pay taxes–a clear sign that you are not an American!

4. He claimed that they were “mooching” off the City of Houston, but the amount of taxes they have paid over the years far outweighs the amount of assistance they have received. If I lost my home due to a natural disaster, I would “mooch” off of the system too with the tax money that I have paid over the years. Illegal immigrants have been “mooching” off of Americans for years–anytime you drain an economy without pouring into it, you are the biggest “mooch” (meaning you do not pay taxes).

5. The majority of Katrina victims are African American, hence you cannot separate any criticisms of the population from the dominant culture in the population. A criticism of Katrina victims is a criticism of African Americans. They are not “them” or “refugees” as he proposed, they are AMERICANS!

6. Illegal immigrants receive better healthcare, more services and benefit from more social programs than many Americans, including the Katrina victims.

7. Crime statistics are unbalanced because the illegal immigrants are “undocumented” eventhough they know how many are here. Interesting… If they are “undocumented,” how do you know how many are here in Texas? Have you made any efforts to learn their “undocumented” crime statistics? Do you need to be reminded that one of the most deadly gangs in the history of the State of Texas (MS13) is comprised of illegal immigrants? This group is also responsible for the rise in crime statistics, eventhough they are “undocumented.” They have caused many murders, car jackings, robberies and assaults that are “undocumented.” The real question is why would you not “document” the crime statistics of illegal immigrants, but make a valiant effort to “document” the crime statistics of Katrina victims?

8. Americans can spend millions of dollars to go across the seas to free other Americans from a war zone, but they can’t get to a state in time to free Americans from a disaster zone. Lives could have been saved! At least illegal immigrants get sent back to their homes! Katrina victims, Americans, are waiting for their homes to be restored. They are waiting for false governmental promises to be fulfilled.

9. If you lose everything that you own, you will do whatever is necessary to feed your family. Frustration can cause any person at the wrong time to consider negative options. This does not excuse the crime, but I understand the root of it. There are many Katrina victims that are hard working, have found jobs, and are making new lives for their families. There are many Katrina victims that are giving back to the economy through paying taxes. There are many Katrina victims that are some of the greatest AMERICANS. Illegal immigrants will never be Americans unless they apply for citizenship.

Katrina victims are not bad people, they are not social misfits, they are Americans that have been removed from their homes due to a natural disaster. If you are going to “document” the crime statistics, “document” the progress. Illegal immigrants are simply not Americans, that is why they are illegal. It is unpatriotic to deny basic human rights to Americans. It is unpatriotic to invite someone to a City to “get back on their feet” and complain that it is taking them too long. It is unpatriotic to have the audacity to claim that illegal immigrants are more American than true Americans. It is unpatriotic for a talk show host to admit that he employed illegal immigrants on the air and not face any repercussions from it. The talk show host in his infinite wisdom, admitted that he employed illegal immigrants because he could not find any one to do the work. My suggestion to him, why don’t you try employing Americans for a change instead of complaining about them? Finally, if I am ever in a similar situation as the Katrina victims, I would hope that someone would be there for me and give me the proper time to recover. How much time does it take to recover from losing everything? The reality is you cannot measure that lost. Katrina victims are not immigrants, they are Americans! I am disgusted that an American would refer to them as anything less and take it further to say that they are less valuable than illegal immigrants!