Jamiel Shaw was a 17-year-old Los Angeles High School student and football player who was shot and killed by gang members on March 2, 2008. Undocumented immigrant Pedro Espinoza, 19, was arrested and charged with Shaw’s murder. He is currently awaiting trial.
Open Letter to Stephen Colbert
By Althea Rae Shaw, penned Sep. 24, 2010. Presented without modification.
Dear Stephen Colbert,
In preparing this open letter to you, I am literally fighting back the tears! It truly breaks my heart that so many people in positions of power and authority continue to make light of illegal immigration!
Are you aware of, and/or concerned with the fact, that American citizens and legal immigrants are murdered everyday by illegal aliens? Have you ever spent one second thinking about that?
In speaking to congress today, do you think you would have prepared anything different if one of your love ones was murdered by an illegal alien? You think you would make fun of this illegal alien invasion if you lost a loved one to this crime?
What if your mother was shot in the head by an illegal alien? Do you think you could make that funny? What about your children? Would it be comical if your daughter or your son or your niece or nephew was lying in the street dead, shot in the head, by someone living in this country illegally?
Here’s a challenge for you Mr. Colbert. I challenge you to visit a memorial plaque in Los Angeles, California. The plaque where my 17 year old nephew, Jamiel Andre’ Shaw II, was murdered on March 2, 2008, by a documented illegal alien gang member.
Minutes after Jamiel hung up the phone with his father Jamiel Sr., Jamiel was shot in the stomach and then shot in the head, three doors from our home. Jamiel’s mother, U.S. Army Sergeant Anita Shaw was serving in Iraq when her son was murdered. Would you like to meet Anita, Mr. Colbert?
I challenge you to visit where Cheryl Green was murdered in Los Angeles. Cheryl Green was 14 years old when she was shot and left for dead by an illegal alien. She was riding her bike across an imaginary line that the illegal alien gang members told each other, “the next black person that crosses this line will die.” Would you like to meet Cheryl’s mother, Charlene Lovett? I’m sure she could use a good laugh!
Maybe walking the streets of Los Angeles are not a challenge you would accept. So, how about Arizona, Mr. Colbert? I challenge you to visit the place where Robert Krentz was murdered by an illegal alien. Robert Krentz was 58. He was a well-liked cattle rancher, working on his 34,000 acre ranch, when he and his dog were shot dead by an illegal alien.
These are just three of the American citizens who I’m sure were not laughing when they were shot and murdered. Unfortunately, we have a long list of names of American citizens who were murdered by illegal aliens. Would you like to see their faces and meet their families?
As a matter of fact, there are tens of thousands of American citizens across the United States of America who were murdered and left for dead by people who were never supposed to be in the USA! Many of these criminals have never been caught!
If you decide to accept this challenge, why not invite about 40 families who lost love ones due to illegal immigration, to come to your studio? Then, you can tell us all about your experience working on this farm. You can even tell us, “how bad your back was hurting when you were working with illegal aliens”. I wonder how many families would laugh and think that’s funny.
To be honest with you, I’m having a very hard time trying to understand why Representative Zoe Lofgren invited you, to speak on this serious issue! Perhaps she too thinks illegal immigration is a laughing matter! She seriously needs to be replaced!!
Call me Mr. Colbert if you accept this challenge, because I know my family would love a good laugh!!
Sincerely,
Jamiel Shaw’s Angry Aunt!
Althea Rae Shaw
Los Angeles, CA
Do you think Althea Rae Shaw’s anger is justified? Let us know in the comments box below.
View Stephen Colbert’s statement to congress:
It’s hard to lose a family member, but I really wish the writer of this letter could gain a little perspective. Should we eradicate everyone in the world name Dahmer, just because one of them was a lunatic?
I’m sure illegal “aliens” (what a real shitty word to use about another human being, by the way) have suffered plenty of abuse at the hands of American natives. Don’t be surprised if their stories are far worse.
Not only are her comments justified I doubt that Mr. Colbert has the guts, let alone the knowledge, to respond.
I’m sure the death of your nephew was horrible and all but you can’t blame it on all immigrants. That would be like me blaming all black people for the group of black kids who stabed my uncle multiple times on his way to his car after work, blame all white people for the one white guy who was high behind the wheel and ran my cousin and his family off the road, and while doing so killing him. If we were to blame a whole group for what one person did everyone would be divided. I’d be discriminating aginst anyone who wasn’t my race because some one else wronged me so next time you want to blame a comunity for what one individual person thing please remember this, karma will catch up to those who do wrong by you. I do feel for you and your family and I wish there was something i could do to open your eyes but there really isn’t so all I can do is put you and your family in my prayers and hope one day you can forgive.
The hearing was actually about migrant workers and solving the problems of providing a migrant workforce while stemming the tide of illegal aliens. The crime associated with illegal immigrants is no better or worse than those associated with legal citizens. Secure borders and an enforceable immigration policy is what the country needs to START fixing both problems. Surely your loss is great, but you would feel no better if the assailant had been born in the USA. It seems everyone needs a time out: Shut down the borders, freeze visas, and THEN decide an approach.
This may be one of the worst conflations of wholly different issues. Because Colbert argues for better salaries and working conditions for migrant farm workers, you actually think he should apologize to you for an illegal gang member’s activities?
You’re prejudging all illegals based on the <10% that commit violent crime. We have similar statistics for citizens too….do you think we should remove basic citizen rights too because some murder victims family is in pain? Justice is based off of factual evidence and the fact that so many agricultural jobs go un-served is a dis-service to immigrants and our markets.
This same ridiculous argument was made against blacks in the middle of last century…please review your history and learn from the suffering of the past.
I support Althea Rae Shaw 100 percent!
Let Stephen Colbert go to those places, let him tell his jokes to those who have had their loved ones murdered needlessly.
He will not do it! He doesn’t have the guts to do it! Colbert is an entertainer plying his trade to the gutless fools who inhabit this country.
You who argue against this author have no concept of loss, and the totally tragic manner in which those described have experienced it.
Please just go away!
Of course her feelings are justified! Let’s face it, while we have many celebrities and talking heads crying crocodile tears for criminal illegal aliens, not one of them has spoken out about the plight of innocent US citizens, like Jamiel Shaw Jr. Or Cheryl Greene, or so many others.The ethnic cleansing of black Americans from their communities by racist illegals, and that’s going on from Los Angeles, to Harlem, NY. The citizen families and their children made homeless because they are discriminated against in their quest for employment, the youth who are denied summer and part time jobs, especially because they don’t speak Spanish. Entire communities of US citizens lose their jobs, and slip between the cracks and not one of these hypocrites even cares.
Look at the cruelty of Colbert and that crook from the United Farmworkers Union, attempting to insult US citizens by inferring that they are lazy if they won’t take jobs harvesting crops at low wages. The facts are this, illegals don’t do those jobs but for a week or two, and then run off and barter away US citizens jobs in construction and in other areas, and then demand welfare subsidies. This woman has it 100% correct to demand that Colbert spend some time walking around in her family’s shoes, and that of others. Shining a bright light into the fraud Colbert is perpetuating. If he cares so much, why hasn’t he spent some time shining a light on homeless citizen families who can’t get a job, because employers are allowed to hire cheaper illegals, who are then subsidized on welfare, on our dime. Why doesn’t he devote a show to families like the Shaws, who have lost a much loved child to an illegal alien gang banger, who have been treated terribly by the corrupt city government in Los Angeles??
Jesse – Who cares what the stories of illegal aliens are. They have no rights here and no right to be here. IDK what you mean by calling them “aliens” but in case you don’t have a dictionary I hope this helps. Looks like the term fits to me.
al·ien
–noun
1.
a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization ( distinguished from citizen).
2.
a foreigner.
3.
a person who has been estranged or excluded.
4.
a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.
–adjective
5.
residing under a government or in a country other than that of one’s birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.
6.
belonging or relating to aliens: alien property.
7.
unlike one’s own; strange; not belonging to one: alien speech.
8.
adverse; hostile; opposed (usually fol. by to or from ): ideas alien to modern thinking.
9.
extraterrestrial.
To those of you that think illegal aliens are harmless, or, like Jason, that only <10% of them commit violent crimes, let me give you some statistics.
•In Los Angeles, 95% of some 1,500 outstanding warrants for homicides are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens.
•Illegal aliens charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related felonies.
•Illegal aliens commit at least 2,158 murders each year – a number that represents three times greater participation than their proportion of the population.
•Illegal alien sexual predators commit an estimated 130,909 sexual crimes each year.
•Nearly 63% of illegal alien sex offenders had been deported on another offense prior to committing the sex crime.
•Only 2% of the illegal alien sex offenders in one study had no history of criminal behavior, beyond crossing the border illegally.
•In Operation Predator, ICE arrested and deported 6,085 illegal alien pedophiles. Some studies suggest each pedophile molests average of 148 children. If so, that could be as many as 900,580 victims.
Still think illegal immigration is a “victimless crime” and we don’t need to control our borders?
http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime_summary.html
“..I’m sure the death of your nephew was horrible and all but you can’t blame it on all immigrants…”
Can Liberal/Democrats/Progressives stop telling lies. This is about ILLEGAL ALIENS! Not, about Immigrants. I am an immigrant and a LEGAL IMMIGRANT. I do not put myself and my family in the same category as ILLEGAL AlLIENS! that is such an insult to purposely mix the two.
The person that shut Jamiel was an ILLEGAL ALIEN! I support Jamiel’s family 300%. I feel for them, his Mom, his Dad and his little brother.
Any one who tell you that the fight is about IMMIGRANTS is purposely trying to confuse the two. Yes, MOST ILLEGAL ALIENS are criminals and have very little education. That is a fact. Low level of education=Crime=Violent Crime.
Millions of people are trying to enter the USA LEGALLY every year. Many of them have to wait in lline for 10 to 15 years. The people trying to enter the USA LEGALLY by most part have at least a high school education because that is one of the requirements.
Yes, the Mexican and Central Americans “NOT LATINOS OR NOT HISPANICS” (BE CLEAR)….farm our farms here in the USA BUT… one can also say for a country that send people to the moon, space and is able to come up with many great inventions hourly, daily etc one have to wonder WHY we still farm manually!.
One could say that the ILLEGAL ALIENS from, Mexico and Central America are the reazon that we are still behind in farming as far as technology is concern. Very,very low tech in most cases.
Have you wonder why have we not technologycally advance in farming but we have in most of every thing else here in the USA? You can thank the cheap labor from Central America, Mexico and the Democrats for usaged of low level of technologies in farming. Also, add to that the 100’s of regulations that farmers will have to go through to able to improve their business model…and use technology instead of manual labor.
Think about…
Sorry, to the Shaw family. But, Hollywood does not get involve with real problems. They just pretend to be for the “little people too…”
Colbert argues for better salaries and working conditions for migrant farm workers.It seems everyone needs a time out: Shut down the borders, freeze visas, and THEN decide an approach.
Dear Ms. Shaw,
I am sorry about your loss. It is terrible when anyone is killed unjustly. However, even if all undocumented workers would be deported, it would not bring your nephew back. Moreover, it would not stop murders or stop gang members from harming innocent people.
Your anger is misplaced Ms. Shaw.
This is about ILLEGAL ALIENS!
Not, about Immigrants. I am an immigrant and a LEGAL IMMIGRANT. I do not put myself and my family in the same category as ILLEGAL AlLIENS! that is such an insult to purposely mix the two.
The person that shut Jamiel was an ILLEGAL ALIEN! I support Jamiel’s family 300%.
I feel for them, his Mom, his Dad and his little brother. Any one who tell you that the fight is about IMMIGRANTS is purposely trying to confuse the two. Yes, MOST ILLEGAL ALIENS are criminals and have very little education. That is a fact.
Low level of education=Crime=Violent Crime. Millions of people are trying to enter the USA LEGALLY every year. Many of them have to wait in lline for 10 to 15 years. The people trying to enter the USA LEGALLY by most part have at least a high school education because that is one of the requirements
God bless for sharing your story and your pain. There is some confusion, but it is all ours. Here is an example, go to a local DMV, and just cut to the front of the very long line without waiting…result?…Fairly obvious huh?
Many of the crimes you are mentioning are not even prosecuted, just deported… Rape, incest, molestation, monetary crimes, ID fraud, etc…are just a few of the common crimes these ILLEGAL folks are getting caught involved in. I might also add the fact that the Hispanic Community is up in the air with this. Basically the focus word is not “Alien” or “Mexican” because we know “Aliens”(from another world) and “Mexicans” are ok, like everyone else…The word of focus is ILLEGAL! Just like any other LAW we have like trespassing, burglary, ID theft etc.. When you do not play by the rules you will be prosecuted no matter where you are from…When they have multiple ID’s, they are drawing money out of your future and the future that was promised to all who paid into these programs for years. It is quite obvious that every country has borders and all countries enforce border control, NONE of which look the other way solely because of political voting. When deported, the crime is simply washed away and they are free to come back later…?..We have had hundreds/thousands of soldiers killed and we keep a head count on the news every night…I wonder what the count is for those innocents killed on both sides with our current policies on and around the borders.
Is Althea’s anger justified????? i have to ask, “Did you read it?” Of course she’s justified. And for those who want to be politically correct and support Illegal Immigration () and who don’t have a HEART or a CONSCIENCE to feel the Shaw family’s PAIN, then consider the FACTS: 95% of 1,500 warrants for homicides and 67% of 17,000 fugitive felony warrants are for illegal aliens.
READ ALL THE FACTS HERE: http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime_summary.html
These people like Colbert don’t live in the real world. This letter came from a real person with real pain unlike Mr Colbert. My heart breaks for this country and for the real people living in it. My sympathy goes out to Althea for the pain she is in. I’m afraid for my own children to have to grow up in a country where the government just seems to not care about it’s people, but then again for the first time I think the people have finally realized that we are the government and we are about to change things. Give us all the courage to make the right change for our children and grandchildren, God bless us all and our country.
Yes, Pauli of course you are right. The point should be Colberts “expert testimony”. That he was even invited to a serious discussion is the very reason people are fed up with congress. The public is treated as if we had no brain.Back in the day, there was a guest worker program which worked.We should be discussing how we can solve the problem…not make fun of it.
American citizens kill each other EVERYDAY. Murders aren’t just done by illegal aliens, in fact I’d be willing to bet most murders are committed by good ol’ USA citizens.
Colbert made some good points. If these jobs were so desirable by Americans, then why would so many illegals get hired? Why do we focus so much on people being paid to cross the border illegally and support their families, instead of those that higher them? It will be a lot easier enforcing illegal immigration if we actually punished those hiring illegal immigrants. Cut off the flow of money, the reason for illegal immigrants, and they will stop coming. But that would be too easy. It’s much more fun going after those with a different skin tone in this country than it would the white folks hiring them.
To Mr. John the Race baiter…”…But that would be too easy. It’s much more fun going after those with a different skin tone in this country than it would the white folks hiring them…”
have you seen the picture of Jamil? He is BLACK in case you have not noticed. Black/Red or Purple he IS DEAD. Jamil was a good kid. Taken away from his family by an ILLEGAL ALIEN from Central America, yes a BROWN on BLACK crime! I am brown. What do you say to that? Should I be ok with the law not going after this ILLEGAL AILIEN because he is “brown” too…No, I don’t think so. If he had hurt anyone member of my family I, will wish that this worm, coward is toasted in hell and prey that he get the electric chair. How is that coming from a brown person to a nother brown person. Sorry, or race baiting does not count. Get off your Democrat Liberal/Progressive horse and start protecting the people of this country INSTEAD OF THE PEOPLE FROM MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
I’d been told by a friend about Althea’s public letter to Stephen Colbert, and I wanted to make a comment in support of her and the entire Shaw family. Here in Rhode Island, where I live, last week, a 9 year old girl, Alexis Silva was killed when a 14 year old illegal alien from Columbia, stole a van, and while drunk, was driving at break neck speed, crashed into the car carrying Alexis’ family. Her mother, 19 month old baby sister, Alexis and a family friend. Everyone in the car was injured, but Alexis died instantly. Her family are devastated, her mother is so heart broken, she can’t bring herself to speak about her daughter. They struggle to get the money together to pay for the funeral, and the hospital bills.
The illegal alien came here with his parents from Columbia, in violation of the law. The sense that they can violate one law after another with impunity, provided the sense of entitlement to continue to break the law. The young man, broke into the offices of an organization that helps poor people, stole the keys to the van and then took off in it. He’s seen one illegal alien after another get away with, or only receive a slap on the wrist each time they’ve stolen, cheated, raped, murdered US citizens, and he’s not the only one to notice this. In the US there are untold innocent US citizen families who have had a loved one, including children ripped from their lives, because of the criminal behaviors of illegal aliens. The parents of Alexis Silva had hopes and dreams for her, and the Shaw family had hopes and dreams for young Jamiel, they were their parents gift to the world, and should have grown to adulthood and had their chance. We hear no recognition of these young people, but we hear endless justifications for the law breakers, the criminals, the felons. It’s a travesty and we need to demand this stop now.
TIMBO – the point is this – if our laws were respected and enforced, the man who killed Jamiel Shaw would not have been in this country. Jamiel Shaw would not have been gunned down on that day because the killer would not have been in the USA, if our laws were enforced.
I find it incredibly disappointing that many on this site fail to understand the issue most important an Althea Shaw’s letter. The fact that Americans-disproportionately Black Americans- are being murdered by people who shouldn’t even be in the country should be our most paramount concern.
Stephen Colbert’s cheap attempt at humor at the expense of the real pain Americans face in the midst of this massive invasion offends most patriots. While I’m aware that there are those who lay claim to some humanist utopia, I would remind them that charity first begins at home and admonish them that a deaf ear should never be given to the bell that may one day toll for them.
I feel for Ms. Shaw, but I am quite disappointed that so few of those commenting here can see that she is a grieving woman misplacing her anger. Her fight is with murders and gang members, not with illegal immigrants. Black people were victims of hate crimes long before the immigration debate started, and they will continue to be long after if ends (if it ever ends).
From what I can tell, Mr. Colbert is discussing a law that would ensure people who work in America are treated humanely. He is not saying they should be allowed in or that they should be given jobs. But, if they are for some reason given jobs and work tirelessly for the benefit of America and it’s agriculture, should we not care that they are treated like animals?
Low levels of education may equal poverty, but it does not equal crime. Plain and simple. It seems like you have no idea how many impoverished people are devout Christians who wouldn’t dream of taking the life of another. Many of them attribute their perseverance entirely to their faith. But you don’t hear about these people on the evening news. Or maybe you just don’t understand how rampant poverty is in America. If, as you’re suggesting, every poor person was a criminal, none of us would ever be able to walk the streets safely.
I have followed the story of the Shaw family for a while now and have nothing but the utmost respect for them. They have handled this tragedy with tremendous. I hope and pray that justice is brought to Jazz’s killer, as well as all other murderers and gang members, whether they are here legally or not.
Ps: I do not support illegal immigration, so please do not post some presumptuous response insisting that I do. All I support is the notion that if some fat cat is going to get rich on the back of another human being, he has a duty to treat that person with dignity. Very few people actually support continuing immigration that is illegal under the current law of the land. The vast majority of the people who you are accusing of supporting illegal immigration actually only support reforming the current immigration law. This is the American identity. From advocating for bicameralism to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” Americans have always used their voices to impact the law. If we hid behind the shield of the status quo, I would be in chains and we would be paying taxes to the Queen.
What no one has said so far is Mexico’s policy on “Illegal aliens” who TRY to come into their country…matter of fact, the government recently said for their citizens livining illeagally in the US to NOT come back to Mexico! They can’t afford them.
Having lived on the border in El Paso for 20 years, 20 years ago, I can assure you this has been a BIG problem for a number of years. Women in labor hire men to carry them across the river while in LABOR so they can go to the hospital and have their “anchor” baby!
Some people commenting here have the mistaken notion that the letter’s primary target is the typical illegal immigrant. Then they go on to point out supposed logical fallacies in the lady’s argument.
The primary target here is Stephen Colbert who went before congress and made a joke about the situation with immigrants crossing the border. There are some things you don’t joke about, and modern day stand-up comedy always seems to be at someone’s expense.
If a doctor sits you down and seriously tells you that your child is overweight and you need to do something about it, doesn’t that strike you differently than someone making a fat joke about your child? in front of an audience? There is a time an a place for jokes, and the during a session of Congress in the legislative chambers of the United States is not one of them.
For all of those who support ILLEGAL immigrants I will gladly join your cause as soon as I am informed of what federal FELONY I can get a free pass on. Murder, Bank Robbery, Treason???? Which one do I get a free pass on and then I will support all who are getting a free pass on breaking the LAW while thousands of honest people seek the American dream legally!!!
Pauli,
I could not agree more with the fact that unmentioned by many people (myself included) is the question of whether Stephen Colbert had any business being invited to speak at such an important and historied venue. I am usually the first to say that everyone needs room for levity on their life, but if congressmen want to be Stephen Colbert fans they should watch his show when they are in the comfort of their own homes. I personally enjoy hos show, but he has no business “testifying” before Congress.
However, while I still agree that the primary target here was Stephen Colbert, it seems to me that she is targeting him with respect to the “typical illegal immigrant” rather than the migrant workers issue about which he was speaking.
My mouth drops at the lack of logic in some of these comments. Let’s agree that only a small percentage of illegal immigrants are racist gangbangers. How much harm is caused by those people? More importantly, while economists debate the effect illegal immigrants have on the economy in general, there is near-unanimous agreement that illegal immigration hurts the poor and has particularly hurt the African-AMerican underclass, causing even more crime. Harvard’s George Borjas (himself Latino) estimates as of 2000 it had increased the African unemployment rate by over 10%. Several prominent liberal pundits, such as Paul Krugman, have accepted these figures and thus opposed the Kennedy/McCain reform bill. This is not a matter of being heartless towards illegal immigrants and their desire for a better life, just dealing with hard truths.
I’m astounded to read all the responses to this heartfelt letter where apparently even in the face of another human being experiencing utter anguish, the writers have no problem twisting the facts.
The issue at hand has nothing to do with “immigrants” anymore than obiding by the law has to do with commiting a felony.
You see, herein lies much of the problem with immigration reform. Supporters of incessant amnesty to the point of open borders know their position goes against all forms of reason, soverignty, securtiy, economic prudence, etc. It’s just that they’re so determined to create some idealistic, utopian global community that they don’t care about the risks OR they think that through their ULTRA GLOBALISM some new level of human conciousness will emerge by which all humans will “evolve” and rise above our current differences. pfffft
As such they’re forced to attempt to redirect all discussion from “ILLEGAL” immigration to “ALL” immigration including the legal varity. Thusly creating a false basis for claims of racism.
In short these fools BS themselves and like it.
Those who say the anger is misplaced or that all murders aren’t committed by illegal aliens are missing the point. The point is, if the government did their job protecting the border and some cities and states didn’t welcome them illegals, they wouldn’t be here in the first place. If they aren’t here, they can’t commit crimes. Get it?? The argument that murders are committed by people other than illegals, so we shouldn’t do anything about the problem is like saying we shouldn’t try to cure cancer — it’s not the only disease that kills people. Makes no sense.
some of the comments here are ridiculous. the fact that there are crimes committed by citizens has nothing to do with illegals committing crimes. The crimes that are happening by illegals WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED if they were back in their own country where they belong. What part of illegal don’t you get?
here is a video that fits with this discussion:
http://ow.ly/3hc2l
I think that your anger is unjustified. Do not look at it as an illegal immigrant, but a gang member who killed your nephew. Black, white, mexican, indian, chinese; it doesn’t matter. It is the fact that you lost your nephew to a mexican gang member that made you irrationally angry toward ALL illegal immigrants. Just because they are illegal doesn’t mean they would commit such a crime, and just because a citizen is legal doesn’t mean they wouldn’t commit such a crime.
Look at the Scottsboro boys.
Look at their case.
Is that stereotype right? Is that the right decision? That is the kind of thing you are doing here, Mrs. Shaw.
And i can tell you right now, stereotyping, especially like that, is dead wrong.