Dodgers Miguel Rojas is a proud American and deserves it

Congratulations to Miguel Rojas, second baseman for the LA Dodgers — not just an outstanding season, but on an even more important achievement: Becoming a US citizen.As The California Post reported, Rojas took and passed the US citizenship test.He used the Dodgers’ bye week before the divisional round of the playoffs to make a special trip to Miami just to take the exam.That’s how committed he was to the process. Rojas was born in Venezuela, and came to the US as a teenager to develop his baseball talent.He didn’t just use the opportunity to build a career.He embraced America and what it stands for.That is legal immigration as it is meant to be. A committed, talented person comes to the country through the proper channels, embraces its principles, studies its history, and masters the civic knowledge each American should possess.When someone does it that way — as opposed to sneaking over the border or overstaying a visa — then there is no doubt that he or she loves this country and is prepared to live here as a law-abiding resident or citizen.Those who support amnesty for illegal immigrants want us to forget that a legal pathway exists.They deliberately blur the distinction between legal and illegal immigrants, so that if you oppose illegal immigration, you can be easily cast as a xenophobic racist who is against all immigration, and written off.Rojas is proof that there is a better way — a way of honor and patriotism.He is a patriotic leader in a patriotic ball club.Dodgers fans cherish the memory of Chicago Cubs outfielder — now Dodgers announcer — Rick Monday saving the American flag from being burned by radical protesters in 1976.That moment is so iconic that even when the Dodgers travel to other cities — but especially to Chicago — they are still greeted, 50 years later, with signs that say, “Thank you, Rick Monday.”Rojas is a Dodger in that fine tradition.

He is a player in whom all of America can take pride.Now all that is left is ...