Look at the faces of my grandparents, Iwan and Anna.
While I'm full blooded American, I called them Dido and Baba in Ukrainian
They came to America the right way, legally.
They didn't sneak across a border or game the system. They didn't demand benefits. Quite the opposite, actually. They worked, paid taxes, and lived the arc of the American Dream.
My family didn't wave foreign flags while chanting "Death to America."
They followed the law, had sponsors, and learned English. In fact, they took night classes because they understood something that seems lost in today's immigration debate: If you want to become an American, you should make every effort to become part of America.
My grandmother scrubbed floors and cleaned up after emergencies as a hospital janitor in the ER. My grandfather worked at the same hospital as a laborer and handyman. The jobs weren't glamorous. They were an honest, hardworking couple.
They worked. They saved. They sacrificed.
They built a life.
And because they did, I was blessed with opportunities they never could have imagined when they first arrived on these shores.
That's the immigrant story Americans celebrate.
But there is another darker, sinister story unfolding across this country, and Americans are getting sick of being told they can't see the difference.
According to prosecutors, Antonio Melendez Reyes, a 59-year-old Salvadoran national, allegedly stalked a 16-year-old girl walking home in Huntington, repeatedly demanded her phone number, dragged her into an alley, and raped her.
The allegations are monstrous.
The victim reportedly escaped half-clothed, climbed a fence to save herself, and called 911 while her attacker was still searching for her, according to police.
If the allegations are proven in court, this wasn't a misunderstanding.
It wasn't a paperwork violation.
It wasn't someone looking for a better life.
It was pure evil from a monster who shouldn't even be here in the first place.
If he is convicted, there should be no debate about what happens next.
Prison. Then deportation. Period. Full stop.
What exactly is the argument for allowing a convicted violent sex offender who entered this country illegally to remain here?
Who benefits?
Certainly not the victim. or law-abiding taxpayers.
Certainly not the legal immigrants who spent years filling out forms, paying fees, learning English, and proving they deserved a place in this country.
The greatest insult to legal immigrants is pretending there is no difference between them and people who break immigration laws and then prey upon innocent Americans.
My grandparents never viewed America as something they were entitled to. They viewed it as something they were fortunate to join. They learned the language because they wanted to communicate with their neighbors. They worked because they believed in self-reliance. They respected the law because they understood that law is what made America different from the places they left behind. That respect wasn't a burden. It was a badge of honor.
There is a massive difference. My grandparents respected America before America ever rewarded them.
That's why they succeeded.
That's why they became Americans in every sense of the word.
Every woke, radical progressive who fights for illegal immigrants more than your family has blood on their hands.
Let that sink in: this 16-year-old girl would not have been raped if it weren't for New York State's lax immigration laws that puts the rights of people who shouldn't even be here in the first place ahead of protecting your family.
Don't ever forget: Kathy Hochul's VERY FIRST EXECUTIVE ORDER was cementing New York as a Sanctuary State.
The next time you see bleeding heart progressives attacking police and screaming in support of illegal immigrants outside of ICE detention facilities, they're cheering for the Salvadoran national accused of brutally raping a girl in a dark Huntington alley.
That's who they love, worship, and protect: illegals accused of committing horrific, brutal crimes against us.
Deportation isn't enough for this monster.
He deserves to spend eternity in the depths of hell, right next to those who fought for him to come and stay in America illegally.