Raping Immigrants...acceptable practice in the U.S.?

During my time away these last few months, I noticed a Law & Order: SVU episode that got me to wonder how important or unimportant the rights of immigrants are in the United States.

In a paper addressing the rights of immigrants, the ACLU references a ruling by the Supreme Court that honors guarantees by the Constitution for every person within U.S. borders including those who are in the country illegally. Therefore, people who are in the U.S. and are undocumented have the right to the same freedoms as the country’s actual citizens. These rights include the right to be treated fairly. With that in mind, I considered the disgusting nature of this one particuilar Law & Order: SVU episode to be something that many U.S. citizens should carefully weigh when it comes to what is right and what is wrong.

This episode included a trial where one police officer was accused of being involved in a double rape and murder of one teenage girl about one decade prior to the trial. The second teenage girl (who was now a young adult) testified against the cop who raped and murdered her friend, she mentioned that he raped her as well. His defense attorney then called her legal status in the U.S. into question by asking her how long was she a citizen of this country. By the witness's reaction, it became easy to conclude that she was still not a legal citizen of the United States.

While her citizenship may be irrelevant to the case, this dirty cop's defense attorney still brought it up. It seemed as if there was a point to make that she could be lying in exchange for a U.S. citizenship, claimed by the defense to be offered to her by the prosecutor. Instead of discussing this episode further, I'll get to the point that is veyr disturbing. The cop not only won the case, but he got to remain part of the police force and the legal system. Even though Law & Order: SVu is a fictional television show, this scenario is all too real. It depicts just how police officers and other officers in the legal system can go ahead and committ the very crimes that they are paid to uphold and are nor held accountable for them.

It is also disgusting that the cop on this episode had a grin on his face the whole time, as if he did not care about raping this female witness. In one way, his defense attorney bringing up her legal "status" makes this a very uneasy realization of how many people view immigrants in the U.S. which is not too important. It is like implying that rapists have an easy pass if they are violating someone who is not a citizen of this country. Do immigrant women not have rights? Should we care or not care about what happens to someone based on his or her legal status? At the end of the trial in the Law & Order: SVU episode, the girl who was raped as a teenager was deported immediately after the trial.

Where is her justice? A cop rapes a woman and still gets to keep his job and doesn't even have to go to prison while this young woman gets kicked out of a country that she has lived and worked in for years, after her friend was raped and murdered without even getting a chance to go through the process of becoming a citizen. That is veyr disturbing. So, it seems that when it is mentioned that Americans take many things for granted and should not complain so much, there can be some truth to that in many circumstances such as this one. Women who are raped and are citizens can seek out as much justice as they want while females who are non-citizens are questioned more about their legal status than the actual crime committed against them. That is so disturbing and even if there were not any laws to protect immigrants who are in the U.S., what about HUMAN rights?

A teenage girl is a teenage girl no matter if she is a citizen or not. Rape is a crime and those who committed it should suffer all due conequences for their actions. Letting people get off scott free is like saying that it is ok to violate the human rights of immigrants in this country. That is so terribly wrong, many people who believe it should be ashamed.

I welcome all opinions on this matter.

Should immigrants have the same rights or at least basic human rights in the U.S.?
If someone commits a crime against them, should they be able to take legal action against their offender, even if they are not a legal citizen of the U.S. ?

Leave your comments below.

Photo By Beleto

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So Far Away

This post has been a long time coming....quite a few weeks even. Thanks to all of you who read the Madlab Post and extra thanks to the subscribers of this blog. The last month has been less productive here as I try to re-evaluate where I am headed by figuring out where it is exactly that I want to go. I am working on formating a feature length script in plans to produce it sometime this year, lord willing. Also, I need to get off of my bum and try to see what's going to become of this short documentary that's been in limbo for far too long. Also, I need to figure out whether or not I have the time to devote to directing these two religious shorts or just stick a fork in it. When New Year's hit on Janurary 2008, no one couldn't tell me that this was not going to be my year. I had so many plans to be more productive and eventually more successful in many areas. Now, that seems like an ancient feeling of excitement stemming from one delusional look at what was ahead for the year of 2008.

Hollywood may seem far, but can I at least get a damn movie off of the ground (one that's more meaningful and preferably...feature length), in front of a larger audience and make more money with media, literature or art? I'm not reaching for hollywood. I'd be satisfied with a finished film that I can discuss more, an acceptance letter from a major film festival or something that keeps me out of the "average joe" world and closer to the filmmaking world. Most of those things however, must not affect the purpose of this blog which is to keep you all up to date on what's going on with the coolest independent films and events happening in our world.

To that respect, April should be an exciting month as the Madlab Post gets back on track with new King Dongs, Giveaways, Celebrity news and hot spots in the independent film community. Don't hesitate to leave a comment with more posts that you would like to see here. Do you want to find out about new movies so that you will not be bored over the summer? Do you want to find out how to get cast in a movie or tv show? Do you want to learn more about what celebrity actors are currently working on? What would YOU like to see more of on the Madlab Post? Drop a comment below!

Who will own Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch?

Pop star Michael Jackson will no longer be the owner of his famed Neverland Ranch later on this month. That is unless he pays for it, of course. Michael Jackson reportedly owes $24 million in taxes, which has caused this property to be placed on the auction block.

Neverland Ranch will be up for auction on March 19, 2008. While this place is wonderful for both children and adults, let's hope that the starting price for the Neverland Ranch auction is not anywhere near $24 million. While I'd love to have something like Neverland Ranch, I'm not Donald Trump. Therefore, the taxes alone is a total that is beyond my reach right now. Talk about Donald Trump, I'm not even Paula Abdul. I mean, let some of the smaller guys get a chance to have their own personal amusement park too.

What would you do with Neverland Ranch if you owned it? Would you quit your job and have fun everyday, open it up to the public, use it a some kind of historical attraction, or what? Also, what do you think would be a fair price for Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch?

Leave Your Comments Below!

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