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Let’s not forget the ‘other’ El Salvadoran immigrants
letter to editor

Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

Tuesday’s edition of the Bulletin printed an article titled “Newsom meets Salvadorans who tried to enter country.”  Governor Gavin Newsom was on his second day of a fact finding visit to El Salvador to hear first-hand stories of Salvadorans trying to leave their home country.  Two of those he talked to were unsuccessful in their caravan attempt to enter America, having been stopped by Mexican officials and bused back to El Salvador.  As stated in the article, California has more Salvadorans than any other state.  While we can all sympathize with the plight of the hundreds of thousands of such people trying to migrate from Central America into the U.S., mostly illegally, there are two sides to every human story.  Here’s but one example of the other side-

On June 22, 2008, on a pleasant and peaceful summer afternoon in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, a gray Chrysler 300 with two occupants pulled alongside the minivan of Tony Bologna, who was just returning home with his three sons from a family outing in Fairfield.  In the words of Andrew Bologna, one of three brothers in the van, “I saw him.  He was staring at my dad, mugging him, giving him a mean look, and that’s when he pulled out a gun.  I didn’t know what was going on, it was like a movie.  They shot my family like that, it doesn’t make sense.”

In just a matter of a few seconds, Tony Bologna and two of his three sons, Matthew and Michael, were shot dead by one of the occupants of the Chrysler 300.  Young Andrew was the only survivor of that shooting.  The shooter was a young male illegal immigrant from El Salvador and member of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) gang.  His name is Edwin Ramos.  Ramos was born in El Salvador, illegally immigrated to California, grew up in San Francisco, and later moved to El Sobrante.  Ramos had twice served probation for violent crimes in the area, but was never deported because of San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy.  The mayor of San Francisco at the time of the shooting was none other than Gavin Newsom.  

At Ramos’ sentencing (life without parole), Superior Court Judge Charles Haines said Ramos “brutally and senselessly” murdered Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, after mistaking one of the sons for a gang rival.  Tony Bologna’s wife, Danielle and surviving son, Andrew were placed under witness protection for fear of retaliation from MS13 after Andrew identified Ramos as the shooter during the trial.  

This “other side” of the story is important to consider when it comes to the problem of illegal immigration from Central America.  MS13 gangs originated in El Salvador, and several of their members have already been discovered “hidden” in the many caravans traversing Mexico.  While Ramos was just a small child when he first entered our country, he still managed to become an active member of MS13 as he grew up in the Bay Area.  How many more of these young men are there already in our country?  They have also migrated to many other areas, being notoriously brutal in the Long Island area of New York.  

Because of California’s ongoing pro-illegal immigration policy, gang activities in this state continue to thrive.  As a direct result of this policy, the Bologna family paid the ultimate price with their lives.  This is just one example.  There are many more.


Bob Teglia

Manteca