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CHARLES o CRIME o POLITICS o EDUCATION o NATION o MO HEALTH REPORT FEATURED STORIES Missouri executes white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin Missouri executes white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin Witnesses said Franklin, 63, made no final statement and did not speak in the execution chamber. Peoria man held on $5 million bond for death of his wife Peoria man held on $5 million bond for death of his wife The woman's body was found in a parked car; she'd been shot twice in the chest. Recent o St. Louis alderman calls for investigation into wrongful arrests o Old Newsboys Day starts Thursday morning o GM unveils new look for the Colorado pickup o Justice Department investigating St. Louis County Family Court o Better Together group launches discussion of city-county governance o Auditors head back to St. Louis Art Museum after week's delay * Opinion + Topics o LETTERS o FORUMS o COLUMNS o FAIR/FOUL o LIVE CHATS o McGRAW IN THE MORNING FEATURED STORIES McClellan: Confidentiality can be a handy thing to hide behind McClellan: Confidentiality can be a handy thing to hide behind As in similar cases, straight talk is scarce in discussion of Ferguson-Florissant superintendent's suspension. Kathleen Parker: One of a kind-ness We could stand to apply the brakes to our runaway impulse to 'similize.' Recent o Stand up for homeless youth o Editorial: Let the Great Reconciliation talks begin o FOUL: Interlopers trying to buy Missouri judges again. They will lose. Again. o Dana Milbank: The fine print of a 'vast majority' o Editorial: Time to take the 'For Sale' sign off the Missouri Capitol o Eugene Robinson: Sisters asunder * Business + Topics o DATABASES o STOCKS o STOCK QUOTES o PRESS RELEASES o SALARIES o HOME VALUES COLUMNS Credit bureau complaints bring relief for 30 percent Credit bureau complaints bring relief for 30 percent Equifax gives the most relief to complainers. Did the dearly beloved have life insurance? Did the dearly beloved have life insurance? The Insurance Department will check for you. FEATURED o LA REIT acquires Energizer and Panera HQs o Too-big-to-fail era isn't over, and may never be o Deer Creek center has new owner o Airline merger challenge was all about Washington o Keep your parent safe from scams o Health insurers face an uncertain future * Sports + Topics o CARDINALS o RAMS o BLUES o MIZZOU o SLU o COLLEGE o GOLF o FORUMS o MORE SPORTS FEATURED Tipsheet: Perhaps RGIII is human after all Tipsheet: Perhaps RGIII is human after all Robert Griffin III is a fine young quarterback, but maybe, just maybe, he won't revolutionize how professional football is played. Strauss: Time is right for Duncan's return Strauss: Time is right for Duncan's return Former Cardinals pitching coach says he took job with Diamondbacks because itâs healthier for him to stay busy. Recent o Hockey Guy: Blues don't have to lean on Steen o Bernie Bytes: The puzzling situation with J.J. 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Recent o Renner's communication key as Burroughs faces explosive team o QB Glass rushes for 2 TDs to lift Hazelwood Central past CBC o Webster Groves holds off late Jackson rally to move to semis o Robinson saves the day as SLUH ousts Eureka in penalty kicks o Parkway Central plays complete game, runs past Camdenton o McCluer South-Berkeley edged by California on last-second FG * Entertainment + Topics o CALENDAR o MUSIC o RESTAURANTS o TV o MOVIES o CELEBRITIES o ARTS & BOOKS o COMICS & GAMES FEATURED The Muny sets its 2014 schedule The Muny sets its 2014 schedule 'Billy Elliot,' the Elton John musical about a boy who loves to dance, opens the season. Here are St. Louis' most-tagged songs on Shazam Here are St. Louis' most-tagged songs on Shazam St. Louis' most-tagged songs on Shazam, brought to you exclusively by Go! Magazine and STLtoday.com. MORE ENTERTAINMENT o Where to dine out for Thanksgiving in St. Louis o Selena Gomez conjures up vintage Spears in Chaifetz show o Coming Friday in Go! Magazine o Special Request: Cleveland-Heath's kale salad is 'clean and bright' o Arctic Monkeys, Fitz & the Tantrums among the Point Birthmonth shows o For indie director Jon Jost, a lifetime of films [4fe20c9fcc113.preview-155.gif] * Lifestyles + Topics o HEALTH o FOOD o HOME & FASHION o RELIGION o STL MOMS & DADS o PETS o TRAVEL o FEAST o ST. LOUIS' BEST BRIDAL FEATURED Freebies, giveaways and amazing deals at Barnes & Noble (West County Center) on Friday Freebies, giveaways and amazing deals at Barnes & Noble (West County Center) on Friday Barnes & Noble at West County Center is hosting "Discovery Friday" on Friday, Nov. 22. A bill comes due for parents' kindness Dear Carolyn ⢠I am in my 30s and live on the opposite coast from my family. We speak about once a month and exchange casual emails. Our relat… MORE LIFESTYLES o She wants baby, but husband still uses drugs o Should she buy her own engagement ring? o Woman dating younger man should take it slow for now o Enter our Travel Photo Contest o Poll:: How often do you share your parenting struggles with a friend? o Poll: At what age did your child start driving? * Photos + Topics o STAFF PICKS o REPRINTS o HISTORIC PHOTOS o HIGH SCHOOL PHOTOS o READER PHOTOS o VIDEOS o UPON FURTHER REVIEW FEATURED STORIES iParty @ Justin Timberlake iParty @ Justin Timberlake Justin Timberlake brings his 20/20 Experience tour to St. Louis Photos: Argentina vs. Bosnia Herzegovina Photos: Argentina vs. Bosnia Herzegovina Argentina beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 during an international friendly match between the Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Argentina men's national … Recent o Two killed as tornado strikes New Minden, Ill. o Top AP photos of the day o NFL cheerleaders: Supporting the armed forces o The List: Gifts for pets o Storm damage across Illinois o November storm races through the area * Autos + New + Used + Certified + Research + Service + Dealers + Specials + Reviews + Auto Print Ads * Homes + Place an Ad + Search Homes + Mortgage Guide + Agent Directory + Your Next Home + What Did It Sell For + Broker Directory * Jobs + Search Jobs + Post Resume + Employers Post a Job + Work at the PD or SJ + Salary Wizard + Cost of Living Wizard * Find & Save + Newspaper Ads + Circulars + Today's Deal + Coupons + Get It Local Directory + Special Sections + P-D Store * Classifieds + Business Opportunities + Notices + Travel + Pets + Estate Sales + Garage/Yard Sales + Merchandise + Place An Ad + Print Ads * Home/ * News/ * Opinion/ * Columnists/ * The Platform Editorial: Thanksgiving a good time to examine immigration policies Save Saved * Save Article * My Saved Items Print Email 2012-11-21T06:00:00Z Editorial: Thanksgiving a good time to examine immigration policies the Editorial Board stltoday.com November 21, 2012 6:00 am • the Editorial Board Loading… × Related Photos « * Guatamalan mom in supreme court over custody battle » Left: Encarnación Bail Romero. The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments in 2010 on a custody battle between Ms. Bail, a Guatemalan mom arrested at a poultry plant in 2007 near Springfield on illegal immigration charges, and a Missouri couple allowed to privately adopt her now 6-year-old child. PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSOURI NEWS HORIZON Enlarge Photo Let's secure our own borders first Securing our borders is a âwarâ that we can and must win. Who and what is coming into this great nation with impunity? Legal entrance, yes! Il… Read more If thereâs a Butterball or some other mass-market turkey on your groaning board today, take a moment to think about Encarnación Bail Romero. The Guatemalan immigrant, who lives in southwest Missouri, until a few weeks ago worked at one of the turkey plants that helped this nationâs poultry industry produce about 248 million turkeys in 2011. Of those, 17.5 million came from plants in Missouri, making it the fourth-biggest turkey-producing state in the nation. Some of those turkeys made it to the market because Ms. Bail, and other workers like her, put in long hours of grim, stomach-churning work for little pay, all the while facing the threat of deportation. Ms. Bail is an undocumented immigrant. Her American-born son, Carlos, is a 6-year-old U.S. citizen. She hasnât seen Carlos since the day in May 2007 when the Barry County chicken plant that employed Ms. Bail was raided by agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Mother and son have never spent a Thanksgiving together. These days, Ms. Bail is allowed legally to stay in the U.S. as her appeal to regain custody of her son continues winding through the Missouri courts. Itâs been a long battle with little hope. Carlos lives with another southwest Missouri family that adopted him while Ms. Bail was awaiting deportation to her home country. The Missouri Supreme Court was faced with the ultimate in judicial challenges when the case came before the court in 2010. There is no doubt Ms. Bailâs rights were denied when she was stuck in jail and a perhaps well-meaning conspiracy sought to provide Carlos a family by ending his motherâs parental rights. She didnât speak English. She didnât know what was happening to her. But by the time justice was sought, the judges were faced with taking the boy away from the family that had raised him for most of his life or returning him to a mother who spoke a different language and would take her son home to Guatemala. The court kicked the case back to the trial court, which this summer kept Carlos with his adoptive parents. Last week, lawyers for Ms. Bail asked the Missouri Supreme Court to take the case again. Today, all over this country, we offer thanks for the food on our tables and the families around us. We should pause, too, to consider the anguish wrought on other families by a broken immigration system. Ms. Bail is hardly alone. Thanksgiving is the ultimate immigration story. Most of what we know â or at least what we think we know â of the so-called first Thanksgiving we learned from a letter Edward Winslow wrote in December 1621 about a gathering between Pilgrims and about 90 members of the Wampanoag native tribe. The Pilgrims had endured some tough times, and the fall harvest that year was plentiful, so they celebrated. The Pilgrims, of course, were immigrants to a land where they were vastly outnumbered by people who had been here for centuries. In the mythological version of Thanksgiving weâve devised today, built around turkey and pumpkin pie, those details get glossed over. âThe Wampanoag, we sometimes forget, were the majority population,â Nancy Brennan, former director of the Plimoth Plantation museum, told The Christian Science Monitor in 2002. âIn the 19th and 20th centuries, Thanksgiving was really a tool for Americanization amid the great influx of immigration. It was supposed to bind this diverse population into one union.â The nationâs most recent presidential election, which was quite divided along racial lines, suggests our union could use some more binding. Whether or notEncarnación Bail Romero ever sees her son again, she and Carlos are an example of everything that has gone wrong with U.S. immigration policy. The poultry industry is a more than $16 billion a year business, so when the huge corporations that dominate the field need workers, the government usually is willing to look the other way while those companies ignore the law to keep wages low. The 2007 raid on the Barry County plant took place in the walk-up to the 2008 presidential election. Then members of both parties were busy trying to demonstrate their tough anti-immigrant bona fides by screaming âbuild the border fence.â Raids like the one that ensnared Ms. Bail were common. Families were torn apart as parents were deported and their American-born children stayed behind. Companies, for the most part, got a pass. This Thanksgiving, the trend is the opposite direction. On June 15, in one of the most important acts in his first term, President Barack Obama signed an executive order allowing children of undocumented workers, who were brought to the country through no fault of their own, to delay their deportation. It mirrored the DREAM Act, which Congress refused to pass. It allowed those young people, most of whom have been educated in American schools, to continue to contribute to the only country theyâve ever called home. Since the president signed that order, more than 53,000 young immigrants have been able to put off deportation. Hundreds of thousands of others are in the pipeline, beginning the process to eventual citizenship. Republicans, reeling from Mr. Obamaâs re-election, and his overwhelming popularity with Hispanic voters, are questioning their previous, harsh stances on issues of immigration. Their conversion should be a quick one. Which policy is more likely to rekindle thoughts of that first Thanksgiving: The one that divides families, and the nation, or the one that keeps parents and children at the same dinner table? America needs a bigger table. It needs to rekindle that simple spirit expressed in the Latin phrase that appears on the official Seal of the United States: E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. Copyright 2013 stltoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Tags Thanksgiving, Encarnacion Bail Romero, Pilgrim, Missouri, Wampanoag People, Illegal Immigration, Plymouth Colony, Missouri Supreme Court, Immigration And Naturalization Service, Dream Act, Guatemala, Barack Obama, Edward Winslow View Comments More The Platform stories * Kathleen Parker: One of a kind-ness * Stand up for homeless youth Stand up for homeless youth * Editorial: Let the Great Reconciliation talks begin Editorial: Let the Great Reconciliation talks begin * FOUL: Interlopers trying to buy Missouri judges again. They will lose. Again. FOUL: Interlopers trying to buy Missouri judges again. They will lose. Again. Advanced Search | Privacy | About Our Ads ____________________ search * News + News + Web Search Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH newsletters Newsletters |Subscribe to email newsletters alerts Alerts |Sign up for news alerts apps Apps |Go mobile with the Post-Dispatch facebook Facebook |Become a fan of STLtoday.com twitter Twitter |Talk with us on Twitter pinterest Pinterest |STLtoday Pinterest rss RSS |Subscribe to our RSS feeds Tweets by @tonymess MOST POPULAR STORIES * 1 With Zimmerman, dueling 911 calls raise questions * 2 Missouri executes white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin * 3 St. Louis man wins $8.3 million malpractice award against John Cochran VA hospital * 4 Man robs U.S. Bank inside Town and Country Schnucks * 5 Chesterfield tennis instructor charged with statutory rape, sodomy * 6 McClellan: Confidentiality can be a handy thing to hide behind * 7 D.C. awash in contracts, lobbying wealth * 8 Owner of St. Louis tax prep franchise gets 20 months for fraud * 9 St. Louis alderman calls for investigation into wrongful arrests * 10 Justice Department investigating St. Louis County Family Court RECENT POSTS * Editorial: Let the Great Reconciliation talks begin * FOUL: Interlopers trying to buy Missouri judges again. 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