If this were a movie to tug at your heartstrings, Alberta Jimenez is straight from central casting.

She came to this country from Mexico to get away from a physically abusive spouse. She has three young children who have to be walked to school even in the worst of weather. Her one child suffers with asthma made worse by bad weather and the fact that she cannot get a driver license.

Perfect, right? Cue the violins.

She is an activist working with Make The Road New Jersey, an immigrant rights group. Her tale of woe was made into a video and published this week by NJ.com. It is carefully designed to make you feel sorry for her and her innocent children.

Keep a few things in mind. While she now is on a waitlist for a U-Visa, she’s been in our country illegally for 16 years. What took her so long? These children are all under 16 years old. Which means she full well knew her limitations as an illegal immigrant yet she chose to have these children anyway. Them having to walk to school in the rain is somehow society’s fault. Also, if the idea here is to convince you that you have more in common with this woman than not, you would assume if she could speak English she would have for this video. 16 years in this country and never learned the language? Nope, not feeling sorry for her.

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