According to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken last weekend and released yesterday 78% of the American people feel immigrants now in the country illegally should be given a chance at citizenship.
Wow! If you read the comments posted online to any news article or blog entry that mentions illegal immigrants you would get the feeling that there are an awful lot of Americans who think that all the undocumented should be immediately deported the moment anyone in law enforcement becomes aware of them, no matter how long the immigrants have been here and how many roots they have put down in our communities. Apparently those who feel that way are much more vocal and much more likely to publicly state their opinion than the 78% majority who feel otherwise.
Maybe the release of this poll will embolden people to be more assertive in defending the most vulnerable and least powerful among us -- the more than 12 million undocumented. You can't go back in time and stand up to the school-yard bullies like you now wish you had but you do have the opportunity to confront the adult bullies who think just because they were born here they can push around defenseless people who were not.
