LETTER TO THE EDITOR (05/14/06)

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Unpleasant truths and illegal aliens

Dear Editor:

Your editorial "Our Broken Immigration System" (April 26) is very disappointing in so many different ways. It is the same canard that we hear from the liberal elite media and from business publications like the Wall Street Journal who crave an unlimited supply of cheap labor.

You claim that the House of Representatives passed a draconian bill that is a disgrace to this country. Well, I never knew that a bill that says a sovereign nation has a right to protect its borders is draconian, especially during wartime. You are so upset that these illegal immigrants would be made felons. Well, it is a fact that a lot of these illegal immigrants are using phony social security numbers. In this country, that is a felony.

The Senate bill which you so admire was signed into law 20 years ago. It promised enhanced border security, employer sanctions and amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants. Well, guess what: we got the amnesty, but never the enhanced border security or employer sanctions. Today we have 12 million illegal aliens. If another amnesty is passed, 20 years from now we will have 50 million illegal immigrants.

My deceased father told me that he had to wait six long years to get into this country. He told me that many times he had given up on the idea that he would ever make it to the United States. In 1965 my father, mother and three brothers finally arrived in America. They settled in Yonkers, N.Y. Your editorial tarnishes the memory of my father and the millions of immigrants like him who played by the rules. Your editorial denigrates the millions of people around the world who are patiently waiting their turn to join the American experience.

Your editorial also conveniently omits many unpleasant truths about illegal immigrants. Twenty-five percent of the inmates in federal prisons are illegal immigrants. In our current politically correct environment, "assimilation" is a dirty word. Every ethnic group now plays the victimization game. In the future, all of these problems will get worse.

Your editorial states that Congress should ignore the polls and do what's right for this country. I wonder if millions of Russians were entering Ukraine illegally, waving Russian flags and demanding everyone assimilate to their culture, that you would be writing that Ukraine should give them amnesty and welcome them. Your hypocrisy is awe-inspiring.

Walter Hac
Yonkers, N.Y.

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