A Message for Deval Patrick

Governor Patrick,

It has come to my attention that President Obama has asked you to open the Commonwealth to house some of the unaccompanied minors that crossed the border into this country illegally. Knowing that you and the president are friends and that you are a card-carrying member of the Democratic party, I assume your answer will be yes. However, I'd like you to reconsider.

Massachusetts is not where these kids need to be. They need to be with their parents. There's no reason to house them for extended periods of time and to register them for school or health benefits. They need to be put on a plane and sent back to their parents. When they're returned, someone should smack their parents and tell them it's a bad idea to pack your kids up and ship them off to a foreign country. Idiots. I know the places they're coming from areas wrought with war and violence, but flooding another country with illegals will start the same process here, so you're really not signing your kids up for a better future at all.

My other problem with this plan is that I'm paying for it. Sure, my ancestors came to this country from somewhere else too, but they did it legally. They didn't ask for anyone to give them food, shelter, medical coverage or anything else. They came here, worked hard and made something of themselves. I'm sure your constituents are harping about Native Americans and the first settlers by this point, but I don't recall the folks on the Mayflower demanding that the Native Americans put them up in nice houses, educate them, feed them and tend to their ill. If these kids were just looking for a piece of dirt to stand on that would be one thing, but they're looking for much more than that and we both know it.

Finally, I'm concerned that reports are saying not all of the kids are kids. Some are in their 20's and may have affiliations with gangs and other less-than-desirable groups. That's not what we need in Massachusetts. The long winters, narrow roads and short tempers of people here already drive many people to their breaking points - we don't need more whackos added to the mix.

So, in conclusion, I urge you to tell your friend, the president, thanks, but no thanks. Massachusetts doesn't need any more illegals than we already have and we're a state that values laws, like the type that dictate how a person is allowed to enter this country and how they're not.

Please, reconsider. Send the illegals that are already here back home and focus on taking care of the legal citizens before we open our borders in some kind of misguided political power play.