Editor,
Actually this letter would have gone to Susan Brooks, our local congresswoman, but I prefer she responds via Current. Let’s talk DACA. There seems no end to the letters/articles defending these illegal aliens dropped here by no choice of their own. I am not insensitive to them, but I believe it only fair to the “legal immigrants” and taxpaying general public to hear an opposing article of dismay and suffering caused by the illegals. The Dreamers.
Presently I am a Carmel resident, but at the time of the incident I lived in Washington Township in Indianapolis.
In 2002 I immigrated my wife and daughter from Ukraine, legally. Leaving their homeland, they came to the USA in hopes of a dream. Upon arrival in January, I entered my daughter midterm into the third grade and signed her up for summer school, English as a second language. They only spoke Russian.
When summer came, my daughter was denied the summer school because the kids that got the spots spoke no English. Checking this out and visitng the school, I found that most of the children were illegals. This was the same story for the next six years. No special ed help for my daughter. Illegals got the spots.
In the sixth grade at Northview Middle School, part of the mandatory curriculum for my daughter was to take Spanish. In a meeting with the principal, I said this is crazy. My daughter is struggling with English and only comprehends 40 percent English. She said there was little she could do. That’s the way it was. There were foreign people walking in the front door weekly that spoke no English, and they had to accommodate everyone equally.
After her freshman year at North Central I had a meeting with the principal and expressed my concerns. My daughter was receiving no special help with English and could only comprehend 50 percent. She did not qualify for the special ed English classes. In a heated meeting with him, I said this is not right, most of those children are illegal aliens and I’m a legal taxpayer. He told me that all the children at North Central have equal rights and he wouldn’t discuss the illegal aliens.
Following this I started writing letters to Dan Burton, our local state representative. His office was eight blocks from North Central. It was a waste of time writing and he refused to see me personally. Said he would look into it.
Let me mention at the time I was unemployed. I was recovering from being let go of my upper management job at a Fortune 500 company. A move by a new CEO to save money by (restructuring) and eliminating a lot of the senior sales staff. A very trendy move for corporations at the time. I shortly after sued for age discrimination and won a years pay with insurance. Oh! And my wife had just had a baby also.
In desperation, I moved my daughter to Chatard High School. I received financial assistance but still had to put the balance on my credit card with the debt I owed St. Vincent hospital for a new baby. We were struggling. Probably because my house was in the middle of a huge remodel when I was let go.
My poor daughter, what a terrible hardship on her. No children would accept her into their group. You know how the kids have grouped up by that age. Also her skin was tan and she has dark hair. Most people think she is Latino, but her descent is from the country of Georgia. I can tell you she cried and was sad.
You never see articles about the real immigrants. They are the tough ones. Never complain. They want to learn and speak our language, English. They become citizens. They fly our flag. They come from all over the world: China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, South Africa.
You want more hardship? Get this. After completing her junior year, she turned 18, after being remediated. Unfortunately, she hooked up with the wrong kids. She ran away with some boy to California. A year later we found her and brought her home where she finished her senior year at North Central. But not after difficulty.
The principal would not let her graduate because she had not completed a course in a foreign language. I told the principal that she spoke perfect Russian, but he said it did not make any difference. With a lot of effort I managed to have the foreign language department at IU Bloomington test her out for three credits of Russian and used this to fulfill her credits to graduate. What a hardship on my daughter. Any child from a foreign country should be allowed to test out in their native language for a credit. But not in Indiana.
I guess that’s the story. So I want to hear from Susan Brooks. What’s up, Susan? Tell us in Current. What is your big plan? Why do you support DACA?
Dave Dettmer, Carmel
