Will Grigg's Liberty Minute

October 2, 2007

Guatemala native Pedro Zapeta came to the United States without government permission in 1995. For eleven years, working in the underground economy as a dishwasher, Zapeta managed to accumulate more than $59,000 in savings.

Two years ago, the illegal immigrant decided to return to his homeland to build a home for his family. As Zapeta prepared to board an airliner, his savings caught the eye of a Customs official. The Feds detained Zapeta and confiscated his money. He was quickly released. His money was not.

Last January, federal Judge James Cohn ruled that the government could keep all but $10,000 of the money it had stolen from Zapeta. This was justified, Cohn insisted, not because Zapeta failed to obey our immigration laws, but because he neglected to sign a disclosure form required of everyone who travels with cash in excess of $10,000.

This kind of officially sanctioned theft happens every day in what was once a free country ruled by law.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.