Poor Hov Ly Kol. He was deported from the U.S. last summer. Bleeding heart columnist James Ragland says he was deported under the "so-called criminal aliens law." My first point is that they call it the criminal aliens law because that's what it is -- is says that if you are an alien here, and you commit a crime, you can't become a citizen or stay here.
Poor Hov Ly Kol. His fiance, Elizabeth Beach, is upset because she won't be able to raise her children in the U.S. And her mother is upset. "I will have to raise my children overseas and she feels like she'll never get to see them." My second point is that that's Elizabeth's choice. She chose to become involved with a man who was a criminal.
Poor Hov Ly Kol. He was only a little teenager, Ragland says, when he "was involved in two robberies in 1995, including a fatal one." What really happened is that he was a gang member and they killed a man in the commission of a robbery.
Poor Hov Ly Kol. He was released from prison in 2007, and according to the law, he should have been deported immediately. But for some reason, they couldn't get the necessary travel documents from Cambodia. In the meantime, poor Hov Ly Kol has played basketball with kids and taken them on field trips and cleaned the streets in his South Philly neighborhood. ICE finally got those travel documents last summer, and poor Hov Ly Kol was picked up and deported.
Poor Hov Ly Kol. His fiance says she thinks there should be "individual review of cases before you rip all of these families apart." I'm concerned about a family that was ripped apart, but it's not poor Hov Ly Kol's family. It's the family of the man he killed. That's where our sympathy should lie -- not with a "criminal alien."
As for individual review -- if we're not going to deport a gang member who killed a man during the commission of an armed robbery, just who should we deport?
"Deportation keeps couple a world away." The Dallas Morning News; May 25, 2011; p. 1B.
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Hi! This is Elizabeth Beach. I'm not upset...because I'm marrying a great man. A man who made mistakes but learned from them. While I appreciate your opinions and your right to express them, you are incorrect in referring to Ly as a murderer. He did not commit murder. If you knew him, I truly believe you would feel ashamed for even writing this blog. He is a sweet, gentle man and even if he were to read this, he would never have a negative word to say about you. Because he has experienced grace in abundance and has a very understanding heart. God Bless You.
You should wish to be as good of a person as Ly. I know Ly, and know his story - the real story that you have no idea about. I talked with him tonight. He's making the best of his life back in Cambodia. Don't be a jerk just because you think you know what you're talking about - Ly is a hell of a better person than most of his "American" neighbors in S. Philly.
Uh -- was he not involved in a robbery that resulted in murder? That makes him guilty of murder. He's a "hell of a better person than his Philly neighbors"? You mean all of them are gang members who committed robberies and murders? I'm glad he learned from his mistakes, but he obviously hasn't learned that mistakes carry consequences, and he shouldn't be hollering unfair because he's reaping what he sowed.
Well said Essie, I couldn't agree with you more. Jerry, are you insinuating that Essie is worse than a gang member, robber and murderer? You call Essie a "jerk" for reporting the facts? If Ly is such a "hell of a better person than most of his "American" neighbors in S. Philley", then I'm awfully glad to live in the great state of Texas! Perhaps you should see how the victims of Ly's crimes feel about him? Elizabeth, if Ly is such a "great" man, then I'm sure your life together in Cambodia will be a good one! I hope, for your sake, you are correct about Ly, for often times love is blind and in this circumstance it could be deadly for you and your children.
I must have read it wrong, Essie, I'm sorry. I was certain that you had referred to him as a "murderer." You are right, though, being at the scene of a murder makes you an accessory to murder. But it doesn't mean there's no redemption for you. Or that you are a "criminal" for life.
It's hard to really explain anything about Ly to you because you come across as despising him even though don't know him. Yes, he committed crimes. But that's not where the story ends. Also, he's not the one "hollering unfair." That would be me.
Anonymous, this story doesn't need to be any more dramatic than it already is. ;) There's no need to worry about my safety or my future childrens' safety. Ly and I will be fine, not just because he's a great man, but because God is taking care of us. Also, being facetious and mean is not fact-reporting, which I'm sure is what Jerry was referring to when he said, "don't be a jerk."
I'm sorry that you guys feel like you have to attack Ly--seems like you also have a negative perception of James Ragland. He is a nice man. Have you met him?
I'm not writing on here to argue. I just think it's important to defend what's good. And Ly is a good man with a good heart. There's just nothing mean-spirited about him.
The point is that you and Ly think the law not be applied in his case. I don't care if the man never commits a sin these days, the law says that if you commit a crime as Ly did, you cannot remain in the states or become a citizen. And you think the law should not apply to Ly.
As far as fact-reporting, what in my posts is erroneous? I stated the facts as James Ragland, "a nice man," reported them. My slant just doesn't happen to be the same as his, but they're the same facts.
BTW -- nothing mean-spirited about Ly if we don't count the armed robbery.
One more point - I wonder how much restitution poor Hov Ly Kol has tried to make to the family of his victim. I notice any mention of them is absent in your protestations of what a good man he is.
Well to be honest Elizabeth, I'm sure I wouldn't spend much time worrying of you or your future children. Life is all about choices and we all have to live with the consequences of the decisions we make. Ly is now living with his. Essie makes another great point...has Ly paid any sort of restitution to the victims or families of his crimes?
Had Ly come to this country as an immigrant, adhered to our laws, assimilated to our culture, there would be no issue here, would there? The laws apply to all...Ly can't be exempt just because you love him, and honestly it's insulting for you to ask otherwise.
Wow -- he was involved in drugs, too! You're not helping your case, here.
Whether I think the law is fair or not, or whether or not you think the law is fair is not relevant. It IS the law.
Just to satisfy you, let's look at Hov Ly Kol individually. He accepted the largesse and opportunity of coming to this country as a refugee, then he ungratefully abused the privilege. He committed criminal acts that resulted in at least one death. The law says that if an alien resident commits a crime, he must be deported when he is released from prison. Hov Ly Kol was a resident alien, he committed a crime, and he enjoyed several years after his release before he was deported.
No ---- don't see anything at all unfair about that. He got a lot more consideration than the dead man did.
As far as DUI's decades ago -- they know the rules. They endangered the lives of American citizens when they chose to drink and drive. We don't want them on our streets and highways. My guess is that you've never had a relative or friend killed by a drunk driver.
As far as my "sarcasm," it's my blog. I write what I want. I object to people like James Ragland making heroes out of criminals. If it takes "sarcasm" to get the point across, then I'll use a ton of it. Most people who don't like my "sarcasm" are just upset that they can't refute my arguments. If my "sarcasm," supported their point of view, they'd be shouting, "You go, girl!"
As an afterthought, why don't you check back in with us in about 5 years. Let's see if you still think old Hov Ly is the saint you think he is now.
Why you not show your face and profile Essie? Good with sarcasm but that is about it I guess.....Elozabeth is open about herself, why not you, why no profile? At least if you have something to say, say it in the open, not skulk away like a stoat!
I not show my face and profile 'cause I no have to. You no like my blog, you no read. Why you post with name "anonymous"? Why you no show your face and profile? LOL.
Anyway, what will showing my face and profile add or detract to what I have to say? Does it matter whether or not I'm white, black, or Asian? Does it matter whether or not I'm skinny or fat? Does where I work matter? Does where I live matter? None of that will change my words.
Hello Essie,
I would be showing my face if I could sadly I do not know how to work icons, while I agree with what you say about gang members, and the forgetting of the victims of crime, I do wish the US had been a little more forthright in its dealings with Khmer murderers when Regan and Bush sr were romancing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, seems different standards apply. I would also like to know why the butchers of Mai Lai only spent a few years in prison, or if the US soldier who shelled a building which killed my first wife in 1972, or left me with 30% burns through a napalm raid in 1968 would ever be considered murderers like these 'gang members' your country is deporting now. Maybe the US should also be as quick to send home the old British man Chris Tappin held in your back woods of Texas on trumped up charges or the numerous autistic kids that pirated a few music film files the US wants to drag over here for a petty minded trial, that you, not the big bosses will be paying for. But sadly the US does not work like that, I am Cambodian living in Europe, I had kids at university in the US, they began to see the deportations of even petty offenders who's crimes were one offs and decades old, even an elderly man of 81 deported for a decades old shoplift, who died on arrival through diabetes neglect. My kids saw this and decided to leave the US. In protest, One works in medicine now in Ireland, the other in Physics in Beiging China....I find myself in touch with a lot of ex pat Americans who grew tired of US hypocrisy and they tell me stories that even manage to shock me, who has seen so much. Like I say I cannot show my icon and have to post anonymously so let me just say my name is Touch Ky Khan, as I have to post anonymous but I like people to see I can put my name to what I say. Namaste....
Just to add to Elizabeth, I hear you and your husband as he is now live in Korea, I wish you great peace, I wish you great happiness, I wish love to both your families, may your new lives give you all you desire, from what I head about all the debt the US is in to China and the rest of the 15 trillion this might be a blessing in disguise....Touch Ky Khan
Fair cop Essie I do not have a profile on here, my name is Vannak Touch, I was the one who said you should have your face on here just like Elizabeth who I wish well..., I came to the US as a Cambodian refugee, I respected the country and lived fairly but it's laws, I got sick of the double standards of Americans and went live in Europe and China. I am a scientist by profession, I have never broken the law, never cost the American tax payer a penny as my family paid for my upbringing and I worked to put myself through university but I got sick of the hate directed towards the Khmer community, the paranoia, the bullying of other nations and comments like yours that have glaring fault lines of national hypocrisy....Essie out of curiosity, your stance on crime and 'murderers'...what is your view of Bradley Manning? I ask as he is a guy who exposed an horrific war crime that saw US soldiers gun down innocent people but so many in the US who profess to hate crime, brand Manning as a traitor...why? He is the model American, he stood up to crime and evil...but I wonder if you see him like this, would be interesting to know. I showed your post to my father last night as he is angry I am moving permenantly to China as he will miss me, as he lives now in the UK, but I wanted him to see one of those typical double standards that made me fall out with the American dream. Of interest some of those who have been returned to Cambodia from the US are doing well over there and helping build the country you helped to destroy, the country is also forging links with China and the Middle East and one day will be part of the major power base in the world.
My last word on this now I am signed in...peace to all concerned in this story. Touch Ky Khan
You little crazy? Bradley Manning traitor, just FYI.
Could you translate FYI please? Cyber speak is not the first language of a 60 yr old Khmer...apology for inconvenience
Bradley Manning exposed an horrific war crime and brought it to world attention so the US army could not hide it away. After all innocent people were butchered, people like the guy Hov's party was involved in killing, though Hov did not, personally kill the man himself...You have high principles on those who commit crime as in the case of Hov, so much so you feel it was right to deport him...so surely the logical conclusion or unseen precedent must follow you would agree all crime was wrong, and those who expose crime or challenge it are upstanding people, Manning exposed a war crime costing severalhuman lives, therefore would you not think him an upstanding person, not a traitor? Would you agree Essie, all life, all human life is sacred, those who take it are wrong? How could Manning be a traitor for exposing this wrong? Can you differentiate for me please, the difference between Cambodian gang members who commit murder and US soldiers who commit murder, are they not all bodies all human is one any more right or wrong than the other? Was the police officer who arrested Hov's gang a traitor? So why is Manning a traitor?
Let me correct myself -- For Your Information (FYI) you LOT crazy!
Ah I thought FYI. Meant (expletive) yourself inbreed lol maybe I am a little crazy like Seal,
I am Khmer myself, was almost killed in the Operation Menu time, saw the deeds of the Khmer Rouge and also I am neo~ pagan so I have the Pro-life stance on issues like murder, abortion and so on, guess that came into play in my writings. I guess valuing all life makes one crazy this day and age when we can wipe out a people in the touch of a button or we have petty nationalistic rhetorics that decide who is valuable and who is not. I am alive by the grace of a God...or some Gods, I would not have been if Kissinger had his way when he bombed my town. Us Khmers were much in the same situation as you Americans on 9-11, we did not know what we had done for some foreign terrorists to think they had the right to bomb and burn us. Unlike 9-11 it was not a one off act of monstrosity but years of mindless killing. Seeing the Americans deport these Cambodian gangsters as a moral menace was almost comical to me when we had to accept the mindless violence of the US forces, dumping bombs, chemicals and a lot of terrified soldiers who were large kids and scared to death so ran amok with guns and so on, on our land. I guess you could only understand if you had lived through it....I shall bid farewell at this point...Namaste
OK - I've let you ramble on enough. If you want to write a blog, set up your own. You're not using mine anymore.
Nice try, Xan, but I'm not letting you post by proxy, either.
Give it up, Xan. I'm not posting anything else from you.
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