The Denver newspaper recently did a story on Jesus Apodaca, a gifted high school graduate who was having difficulties obtaining scholarships for his college education. The article revealed that he was from Mexico. Congressman Tancredo (R-Colo.), an extreme anti-immigrant ultra-rightist, uncovered his racist attitudes and asked the Immigration Service to deport Apodaca and his family. These events inspired this poem. – Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.



Tom I want you to know that I am Illegal, that my parents were Illegal, that they came to this country with a MEXICAN DREAM – that life would be better there would be an abundance of justicia! They raised ten Illegal children who fought and returned from those unlawful wars only to be more Illegal than when they left. If that’s not enough, I want you to know my siblings have multiplied and all sobrinos y sobrinas they are all illegal. I want you to know that I am Illegal, that we’re the ones who renovated your home, raise your children, clean up after people like you maid your houses, garden your flowers. work your fields, your orchards construction sites & restaurant kitchens doing the cheeeeeap hard labor your kind refuse to do.

I want you to know that I am Illegal. We are all illegal Americans from North, Central & South America we are all proud of being illegal Americans.

I want to know with a name like yours if there are skeletons in your closet . . . if they are illegal & did you ask for their pink cards after all, people who live in glass houses need to be extra careful.



Tom Tancredo

I am Illegal, I’m proud of being illegal. Your Gestapo immigration can’t mess with my MEXICAN/CHICANO sueño for a better life – lleno de justicia NOT the “just us” American dream that you look for . . . a life without people who are different than you in color and size and even better than you.



Tom I want you to know there are no illegal people, there are only illegal governments. I’m sure you will say writing this poem is illegal. It’s against the law because it’s the fashionable thing to be. I want you to know

You will never understand being illegal is fun being a wetback is cool being a mojado es la moda because being illegal is being different than you and is the best thing I know how to be!



Trinidad Sánchez, Jr. is author of the best seller Why Am I So Brown? and lives in Denver, Colo. He can be reached at trino@familystar.net