I have seen several letters about the new Arizona law. Most are from people who are in favor of it. Shame on them.
No one in the almost 234 years since the Declaration of Independence has been asked to carry papers on them at all times to prove they belong here. We have had waves of immigration from all corners of this Earth, millions who could not speak English and had no special skills. They were not always welcomed, but they worked hard, learned the language and gave us children who made this country what it is today.
There is a lot of misinformation and a lot repeated in the letters. Hispanic immigrants pay taxes; try buying anything without paying taxes. They work for employers so they pay Social Security and Medicare taxes. They may rent a place to stay and the rent pays for the property tax the owner pays. If they are illegal they cannot collect Social Security, so all the money paid in just goes to the treasury for the rest of us.
Some letters specify all the crime illegal immigrants commit. Fact: States bordering Mexico are experiencing the lowest violent crime rate in decades. Look it up in FBI statistics. Yes, illegal immigrants use hospitals, but because they are illegal they cannot get health insurance. The rate at which they use hospitals is not nearly as high as the letters say.
I am all for making it harder for illegal aliens entering the country. That should be the first step in immigration reform, but we also must deal with the millions already here. No one is talking about amnesty. Let them pay a fine, show proof of employment, no criminal history, and learn English, then go to the back of the line.
The Arizona law would make police detain U.S. citizens who cannot prove they are here legally until they can show such proof. Is that the America you learned about in school?
Tim Hunter
Marysville
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