Musings: Wearing a target on their backs

I am a proud, retired Long Island schoolteacher. I grew up on Long Island and raised my children here. I have five grandchildren, and three share American and Hispanic heritage. Their mom, from Bolivia, graduated college in the United States and received a master’s degree in business administration as well.

She currently works for the American Red Cross helping others. Their dad is a lawyer working at a leading national firm in Virginia. Yet, each day they are concerned that their children and nanny, who is legally here, will encounter a problem as they go through their daily activities.

Both parents are accomplished, but the mother and her children have an X on their backs because of their South American background. They spend time worrying about their children’s safety. America’s Hispanic population has to worry that they will become victims of a “witch hunt” or be ridiculed by others.

How do we decide who is a gang member? By just looking at them or even Photoshopping tattoos on their pictures?

I am so disappointed in those who think this is OK. Those who are silent and those who support these moves are not innocent. How does a person sit quietly when people are being targeted and mistreated?

No, not everyone who has crossed the southern border belongs here. However, how many lives of people who have made a difference are being destroyed?

What happened to the days when we celebrated and accepted our differences?

When my grandparents came to America from Russia, they felt safe when they finally arrived. It is time to stand together and not accept the craziness that has been created. I am confident that those targeting migrants never experienced the mistreatment our Hispanic population must endure.

— Nancy Morris, Merrick