Trinity Pellas and Sarah Fonte each wrote negative comments [Letters, January/February] about your “illegals” article [“Penalty Shot,” October]. Ms. Pellas even uncorked “political correctness.”
Sorry, ladies! While I have many fine immigrant students and while Hispanics helped build my home, any undocumented alien is, by definition, an “illegal.”
Like immigrants arriving today, my grandparents suffered the typical indignities faced by newly arriving Americans. How did they respond? They learned English, followed rules, and paid their own way.
I am not a Spanish teacher, but happen to be an Anglo who speaks Spanish because he wants to. Accordingly, each time I traveled to South America, I entered those nations according to their laws.
“Illegals” are here because they seek opportunity. But in so doing, they break the law. Would Pellas and Fonte support my stealing their purses so I may further my prospects?
Countries where these illegals come from should create economies that provide opportunity. We should also enforce our existing immigration laws, or change them.
Schools are overcrowded. Social welfare spending spirals out of control. Terrorists threaten us with harm. We must protect our sovereignty. We should limit access to the social safety net or risk fiscal ruin.
We are a nation of laws. Anyone entering legally is welcome. Conversely, someone crossing the Rio Grand to deliver a baby should not claim the full benefits of citizenship for their child. They should also keep their hands out of my wallet. Should schools report “illegals?” I say “yes!”
We should pay a living wage for honest work typically done by illegals. Our young people should mow the family lawn; they’d learn responsibility. High school grads without college plans might consider working construction. They should work in restaurant kitchens. I did.
We may have to pay more for lettuce, but that’s the price of sovereignty. That’s common sense.
Michael Goodman
High Point, North Carolina
