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Just Who is Our Government For? Not for Americans, That's For Sure
U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi, a native of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and section leader with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment quick reaction force, is combat meritoriously promoted to his current rank here, Feb. 2. Tahmooressi received this meritorious promotion for the exemplary performance of his duties while holding the billet of a staff noncommissioned officer. Photo 1st Lt. Chris Harper, Pentagon.

Just Who is Our Government For? Not for Americans, That's For Sure

Our president once flaunted his "phone" and his "pen." Yet this administration can't seem to find time to use them to help Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi and Meriam Ibrahim.

Being an American used to mean something. Perhaps most importantly (especially in light of more recent events) it used to mean that your country did whatever it could for you when you were in trouble. Like other recent films have portrayed (“Argo” and “Captain Phillips” come to mind), our government has always proudly held the reputation of going to any lengths to save to the lives of Americans.

A few days ago, Michelle Obama tweeted out the following in response to Boko Haram’s mass kidnapping in Nigeria:

Image source: Twitter/FLOTUS Image source: Twitter/FLOTUS

Momentarily setting aside the gross UN-seriousness of a representative (unelected though she may be) of our federal government “tweeting” about so serious a matter, let’s talk about those four little words.

Bring . . . back . . . our . . . girls.

Our girls.

“Heinous” doesn’t even begin to describe what is happening to these poor young women. I truly hope we’re able to help them. But let’s get one thing quite clear: they aren’t our girls.

Do you know who is “ours?”

Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.

Glenn Beck holds a #FreeTahmooressi sign for U.S. Marine Andrew Tahmooressi, who has been imprisoned by Mexican authorities after accidentally crossing the border with three firearms. (Photo: TheBlaze TV) Glenn Beck holds a #FreeTahmooressi sign for U.S. Marine Andrew Tahmooressi, who has been imprisoned by Mexican authorities after accidentally crossing the border with three firearms. (Photo: TheBlaze TV)

Tahmooressi is a combat veteran, and more importantly, he’s an American citizen. And he’s currently rotting away in a maximum security prison near Tijuana, thanks to an honest mistake.

He’s been held in Mexico for over a month after he made a wrong turn near the border that landed him in Mexican territory. He had been, as his frantic mother noted, “in San Diego for 10 days and was looking for a place to live so he could continue treatment at the VA hospital.”

He had his belongings in his car that night, which happened to include legal firearms which he promptly declared to the Mexican authorities. After calling 911 in a final attempt to save himself, he was immediately arrested and placed in prison, where his life has been threatened and he has been abused—including spending over 30 days with his hands and feet chained to a bed.

I’m still waiting for the tweet from our First Lady. #BringBackOurHero would be nice.

[sharequote align="center"]I’m still waiting for the tweet from our First Lady. #BringBackOurHero would be nice.[/sharequote]

In all seriousness though, I’m still waiting for this administration to actually do something about it. They’ve not lifted a finger.

Is this not the same administration that was able to take out the world’s most infamous terrorist? And yet, our president can’t seem to be bothered to rescue this hero when his country needs him the most.

Where is the “pen” and the “phone” our president once so openly flaunted?

This May 3, 2014, photo shows Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi left, who is being held at Tijuana's La Mesa Penitentiary. The 25-year-old Marine Corps combat veteran is being held on weapons charges for mistakenly crossing the border with a shotgun, handgun and rifle in his vehicle. If Tahmooressi is convicted, he faces six to 21 years in a Mexican prison, his lawyers said, adding that alternatively the case could be dropped if the Mexican Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City requests dismissal. SAN DIEGO, ALEJANDRO TAMAYO — AP Photo This May 3, 2014, photo shows Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi left, who is being held at Tijuana's La Mesa Penitentiary. The 25-year-old Marine Corps combat veteran is being held on weapons charges for mistakenly crossing the border with a shotgun, handgun and rifle in his vehicle. If Tahmooressi is convicted, he faces six to 21 years in a Mexican prison, his lawyers said, adding that alternatively the case could be dropped if the Mexican Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City requests dismissal. SAN DIEGO, ALEJANDRO TAMAYO — AP Photo

Instead, we’re met with deafening silence.

John Kerry was in Mexico this week on other business (avoiding a Benghazi subpeona in the process), and many have pressured him to demand Tahmooressi's release.

While it's not certain what he did to this end, the fact remains: We shouldn't have to plead with our government to be bothered with demanding the release of an American unjustly detained. Ironically enough, Kerry did find time to petition the state of Texas back in 2013 not to execute a convicted cop killer, Mexican national and illegal alien Edgar Tamayo, but has remained eerily silent on Andrew Tahmooressi.

Now, journey with me several thousand miles across the ocean to the African nation of Sudan, where pregnant Meriam Ibrahim is being held on death row in Omdurman Prison with her 2-year-old son.

Ibrahim is married to Daniel Wani, a fellow Sudanese who immigrated to the United States after fleeing civil war in his country. He had since become an American citizen. Wani, a Christian, eventually returned to Sudan where he met his now-wife Meriam. The couple had been in the process of obtaining a visa for Ibrahim to join him legally in the United States.

Ibrahim’s crime is that she is said to have committed apostasy; that is, the act of leaving one’s Muslim faith. Ibrahim, raised as a Christian, refused to recant her faith and is now facing death by hanging. Her son has been deemed illegitimate (as Ibrahim married a non-Muslim) and thanks to her marriage’s “illegitimacy,” pregnant Ibrahim is said to have received 100 lashes as punishment for her “adultery.”

Meriam Ibrahim and her husband Daniel (Photo credit: Huffington Post) Meriam Ibrahim and her husband Daniel (Photo credit: Huffington Post)

Our government could expedite her visa and citizenship processes in mere moments. We have not.

Indeed, this woman isn’t an American. But neither are the millions of illegal aliens upon which this administration would like to convey amnesty. Wouldn’t it be nice if our government went to extra special lengths this time to save the life of young Meriam Ibrahim, a woman who was in the process of coming here legally?

Instead, because of the bureaucratic ridiculousness of the immigration backlog, she is currently facing death in her home country. What’s more, her children (both born and unborn) ARE American citizens, and they’re rotting away in that cell with her.

Barack Obama is famous for saying that if he’d had a son, he would have looked like Trayvon Martin. When Michelle Obama spoke of those poor girls in Nigeria, she said that “In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters.”

And just what are Andrew Tahmooressi and Meriam Ibrahim to the president and First Lady?

We live under an administration that has copiously used executive orders and executive privilege to do as it pleases. Where is this “power” when it is legitimately needed?

Mary Ramirez is a full time writer, creator of www.afuturefree.com--a political commentary blog, and contributor to the Chris Salcedo Show. She can be reached at: afuturefree@aol.com; or on Twitter: @AFutureFree

Feature Photo Credit: Photo 1st Lt. Chris Harper, Pentagon

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