No, the worst part of the story is the fact these illegals were in our country in the first place. I will never shed a tear for anchor babies and neither should you. If we secured our borders there wouldn't be sob stories like this.

Gov Patrick should spend more time learning not to make calls on behalf of companies he used to sit of the board of (Ameriquest) and less time pandering to the Guatamalan/illegal alien lobby.

Its a travesty that he was elected over Kerry Healey and is undoing everything Mitt did to keep illegals out of MA.

Their mammas can find jobs in Guatamala and then come here legally.

And if this had been a group of English speaking, white Americans arrested for, oh...let's say a large shoplifting ring? Would you still be as incensed that the government had dared arrest them without securing proper childcare first?

No one I know would ever suggest that just because someone that broke the law had children they shouldn't go to jail.

It's okay to have compassion for these families, especially the children who get caught up in the middle, but the fact remains, "illegal immigrant" means that a law was broken.  If we stop enforcing the laws because it makes us uncomfortable to do so, where will that land us?

PingBack from http://babiesblog.info/kids-babies-stranded-when-feds-raid-sweatshop-detain-illegal-workers/

To the previous commentors, how dare you, you being parents I'm assuming? If you had any actual idea of what these peoples lives were really like back home, you would not be so ignorant to just say "get a job in Guatamala and come here legally." These people are working in SWEATSHOPS in conditions that you would never dark work in, all to support their children and families back home. If you lived in El Salvador or Guatemala you would be wanting to come to the US to work too, especially if you hade children. Think about if you were in their situation, which you probably can't even fathom. I'm really shocked to see this kind of "control our borders" crap on a site like this. Go back to watching your Fox news.

I agree with Deborah - this kind of "they deserve what they get" mentality toward migrant workers in this country sickens me, and has no place in a society that DEPENDS on their labor.  If the U.S. military sees fit to hire them, the U.S. government should be protecting these women - not enslaving them, then taking their children away and/or forcing them into state care.  In what universe does that make sense?

I think some of you missed the larger point of Aly's story. She isn't supporting using illegal immigrants to hold jobs. She isn't suggesting the FBI secure daycare for the illegal immigrants and she wasn't even suggesting that the illegal immigrants not be deported should it come to that.  What she pointed out is the OUR GOVERNMENT gave a 91 MILLION DOLLAR contract to the idiot who set up the sweatshop where these illegals worked cause they can't get a green card to work here legally. The same idiot who is lining his pockets with OUR TAX MONEY. Seems to me he's the one breaking the law and being monetarily rewarded for it to boot.

And for all of you who feel we should lock the doors and keep the bad aliens out, remember unless you are 100% Native American your grandparents came here for the same reason these people have, for a chance at a life for their children. Some came to escape religious persecution, some came to escape political annihilation, some came to escape horrific poverty. And all these women worked in these conditions because it was better than starving to death in El Salvador or wherever.

I'm not saying we should let the world in and then let them have babies collect welfare and live off our taxes. But, have a little compassion. If they could get a green card and live here legally they would, it just isn't that easy. It is very very difficult to come here and live legally. And remarkably, people like these women who work hard and just want a better life aren't who we should be worried about, it is the extreme Muslim sect coming in on student visas and work visas from all over Europe with Irish visas, and English visas, and Egyptian visas, and Ethiopian visas. Believe me that is much more disconcerting. If a women wants to come here and be a maid and nanny from Mexico, I really don't see too many ambitious young Americans lining up for that part of the American dream, do you?

"unless you are 100% Native American your grandparents came here for the same reason these people have, for a chance at a life for their children"

Yes, but my family came here legally!  As did many many others.  Or they came when the borders were open to new immigrants.  There is a reason why we now have immigration laws.  We can't keep taking them in.

You also say that they are coming here for a chance to better their lives.  Yes some I'm sure, but unfortunately not all of them are the family friendly MSM pity case that you all want them to be.  How many illegal aliens are in our prisons?  Convicted of murdering children, molesting children, beating up women?  Too many to count.  

Can you even bring yourself to type 'illegal aliens', why call them migrant workers? A migrant worker can be defined as someone who moves from Boston to Providence on a job transfer, not a border jumper cheating American taxpayers.

Can you even bring yourself to type 'illegal aliens', why call them migrant workers? A migrant worker can be defined as someone who moves from Boston to Providence on a job transfer, not a border jumper cheating American taxpayers.

Basketcase, you aren't saying to let the world in, just every sadsack mother with children? Only the ones that drain our resources (education and health care, to be precise)?

Its hard to become an American citizen? Sure it is, its supposed to be. Its hard to become a Canadian citizen as well, but does that mean I have the right to jump the border and start demanding services from the Canucks?

Finally, Deborah, if those situations are so bad why don't you volunteer YOUR tax dollars to caring for them and leave mine out of it? YOUR children are being shortchanged on their educations because our schools are drowning in illegal children. YOUR children will find it rather tough to find jobs because illegals will do those same jobs for four bucks an hour. They don't just effect blue collar landscaping jobs, they drive down everyone's wages.

Our families came here legally when America's population was 55 million. Its not the same nation now, get your heads out of the sand! Our ancestors learned English and became Americans. They didn't demand bilingual education and the first of the line at the ER. The America of 1907 and 2007 are vastly different places. Just because they have children shouldn't automatically make them sympathetic in your eyes. They shouldn't be here, what is confusing about that?

Actually, a lot of our ancestors didn't learn English. It wasn't until the next generation born here that a lot of them began speaking English.

As for my taxes paying for their care - sure, I'll do it from my tax money -- all you gotta do is bring it back from Iraq.

Man, I didn't realize so many "New Urban Parents" were xenophobes.

To Deborah: I have plenty of compassion, and before you start making judgements about me and my family and what we go through, get to know me first.  

Is life hard in other countries? Yes it is, but I sorry to say that's not for ME or for our country to fix.  It's up to the governments of those countries.

Where is your heartfelt compassion and concern for the children in this country that don't get enough to eat, have no place to live or become ill and die every year because they are denied access to medical care?  

Also, I believe that attitudes like yours are a direct insult to the men and women who work hard, go through the proper channels and come here legally.  They had it hard, too.  The men and women that come here illegally don't live much better lives than they would in their home countries. They are underpaid, not protected by labor laws and often live in squalor.  

If you really want to change things, help reform the immigration laws so that people wanting to help their families can come her legally, earn a decent wage and not have to hide from the law.

Not all immigrants come here for the benefits, they come here for the JOBS. Now while these people and their families have their lives disrupted yet again, the factories and other companys that hire them will walk away with a fine and a slap on the wrist. Just the cost of doing business.

And btw, Mitt Romney did nothing to stop illegals from coming to Massachusetts. He <i>employed</i> them!

Melissa:  Your family came here legally and that is cool. My Vietnamese assistant paid gold to escape illegally from Vietnam. 35 people in a row boat for 20 days until a US Navy boat saved them and took them to PHillipines and they went to various parts of the different countries she ended up here with her husband and then 6 month old son. She would have rather died free than stay there. We are so spoiled and pampered that we have no clue how bad, bad really is and few of us are willing to die for freedom anymore. What about all the Jews who escaped Germany by lying and sneaking and illegally running from imminent death. We take a whole lot for granted.

Also, the jails are filled with illegals I'm sure, and here I am with you. Let's deport them!!!

MT Robb -- I am not supporting allowing mommies who get preggers to just stay here with the new baby anchors. It wasn't at all my intention. I do think that there are jobs for people from other countries who want them and frankly allowing people to come and take some of the minimum wage jobs in factories and as household helpers isn't entirely the horrible thing you might think. I'd much rather bring a little Mexico here and keep the factory open and functioning hiring workers at the lower wage and sponsering their citizenship so they too will pay taxes, and keep the factories here. All this self righteous yelling about how they are stealing OUR JOBS is ridiculous. It is the BOD's and CEO's who want bigger profits who are stealing OUR jobs and sending the whole factory to Mexico where they can not only hire Mexicans but they can pay them $2.00 per hour instead of minimum wage we pay here. So, don't blame it all on the border jumpers or those hanging in long past the visa expiration date. Pretty soon we will be crossing the border to get a job in Mexico and I hope they have more consideration for us.

My friends who are here legally resent those who come here illegally.  They say they can't get a good job with good pay because illegals will work for less.  That was a very interesting fact to me.  I think it is time we hold the businesses responsible for hiring the people they do.  If they were arrested for hiring the people who are illegal, maybe it would stop.  I also believe children who are born in our country of illegal immigrants should be considered illegal too.  They should not be citizens.  Then maybe our hospitals would not be so full of the poor girls who come across here to have babies hoping to stay because their child is a citizen.  It is just wrong for them to do that.

Brass tacks. There were some serious discussions happening this week, centering around a few always controversial topics: Christianity, Breeder v. Non-Breeders, co-sleeping, immigration, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. First, Alisyn's post about

What exactly would those resentful legal immigrants have done, exactly, had they failed in their attempt to immigrate legally?

I really don't think that the women in this situation came to America on a holiday, or to hit up welfare. They were working, and harder than I know I do. Harder than a lot of legal citizens.

Keep in mind, there are jobs leaving the country for countries that will do it for far less than 4 dollars an hour, all over the world. You don't have to jump a border to "steal" jobs. Welcome to the global economy.

Change laws to help those willing to work, live, and be a contributing part of society get a chance, and to make it easier to get rid of those who would take advantage of the system and break laws.

But don't bring up right and wrong, cultural concepts of common sense or decency. If you don't know why someone does what they do, you are not fit to judge them for it.