OPINION:
During a recent interview on MSNBC, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Democrat, and show host Joy Reid exchanged a few chuckles as they chatted about Fox News’ coverage of the recent kidnapping and rape of a 13-year-old girl. The accused is an illegal immigrant (“Illegal immigrant charged in broad daylight rape of teen girl in New York City,” web, June 18).
The two compared Fox’s “scare tactics” coverage with other cable news outlets that were instead praising President Biden’s illegal immigrant philanthropy.
Police say the attack occurred on the afternoon of June 13, when a 25-year-old illegal immigrant from Ecuador came upon two young teens, a boy and girl, in a New York City park. The man proceeded to bind the couple with shoelaces, gag them, then cut away the girl’s clothing with a knife and rape her. He has admitted to filming the attack on his cellphone.
Ms. Jayapal’s dismissive snickers on MSNBC suggest a disconcertingly inverted mindset that subordinates this child’s rape to the plight of the suspect, an illegal immigrant. After all, just as she did in the interview, Ms. Jayapal regularly points to her 20 years of dedicated advocacy for the rights, dignity and just treatment of illegal immigrants as the founder of the community organization OneAmerica.
I wonder how much dignity this 13-year-old girl felt when she was being violated, or how dignified the 12-year-old girl in Houston felt when she was stripped, assaulted, strangled and then dumped in a creek. And what about the 32-year-old mother from Maryland who was brutally raped and beaten to death while going for a walk along a trail? Her body was left in a water drain. Where is the dignity there? Each of these savage attacks occurred days apart and were perpetrated by young men from Central and South America who illegally crossed a wide-open southern border on President Biden’s apathetic watch.
Perhaps it’s a concept lost to the age of powdered wigs and tricorn hats, but I think our elected officials should be steadfast patriots loyal to the principles enshrined in the Constitution. Unfortunately, Pramila Jayapal is one example of many in government, including the “Big Guy” up top, who have proved where their loyalties lie. And it’s not with American citizens.
SCOTT R. HAMMOND
Boston
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