Illegal Aliens

The e-mail that popped into my inbox started with an insult and included an attachment full of "facts." After calling me a "crybaby" for writing a sympathetic story about Mexican immigrants, the sender insisted I read a series of statistics on the effects of illegal immigration on Los Angeles and California. Hospitals, law enforcement and other public services, he said, are being overwhelmed. At first, because of the sender's tone, I ignored the attachment. Then it arrived again, this time forwarded by a friendly reader.

Re "Immigration Recrimination," April 9 The gulf between Democrats and Republicans, and between the House and the Senate, on the immigration bill cannot be bridged without presidential leadership. It is a tragedy for the country that President Bush has his heart in the right place on this issue but is not likely to be effective because his political muscle is wasted. But he has a chance to restore some lost respect and his reputation in history if he makes a valiant effort to lead on this vital issue.

Re "GOP's Call for Hearings Puts Immigration Overhaul in Limbo," June 21 I was happy to see that the House will continue to oppose President Bush's and the Senate's position that there should be a path toward citizenship for the illegal aliens in this country. There should be no retroactive passes given to any illegal aliens, the borders should be secured and employers should be liable for hiring illegal aliens. There is absolutely no reason why any form of amnesty by whatever name you choose should be allowed.

In the '60s, many moronic, guilt-stricken white intellectuals identified with, supported and romanticized angry black people who were demanding civil rights, political power and other goals ("Just a Quick Word on the Hot Topic of the Day," by Rick Wartzman, From First and Spring, June 25). Remember the notorious dinner party thrown by Leonard Bernstein in his Park Avenue apartment to raise money for the Black Panthers? Now it seems all the rage for white liberals to take the side of the illegal aliens.

Re "The antidote to a poisoned debate," Opinion, Sept. 12 Attention, Gov. Schwarzenegger: A "path to legal status" for those here illegally is amnesty. And we don't need any "temporary worker program" for engineers or agricultural workers. There are plenty of legal residents already here who will do those jobs if paid enough. Also, there is no need to attempt to deport the estimated 12 million illegal aliens already here. We need to start enforcing the law and most of those here illegally will self-deport.

Re "Banking on illegal immigrants," Feb. 14 Regarding Bank of America's plan to offer credit cards to people without Social Security numbers and/or other documents: I have a few concerns or questions. Won't this action encourage an increased flow of illegal aliens into the United States? Won't this provide terrorists a greater opportunity to fund their destructive programs with minimal monitoring of money transactions? Won't this cause an increase in the cost of doing business because an excessive number of payment defaults would likely result in responsible people paying higher fees, as well as lower profit distributions to Bank of America stockholders?

Re "Kosovo needs independence, mediator says," March 27 Martti Ahtisaari, the Kosovo mediator, needs a solid lesson in international law. The same applies to the U.S. government, which according to the article "strongly backs independence for Kosovo." The United Nations would be trampling on its own charter by ripping the province of Kosovo from Serbia and handing it to those who constitute the majority, i.e. Kosovo's Albanians. It should also be noted that 40% of the Albanians who came to Kosovo over the decades were illegal aliens from Albania who entered Serbia through its porous border with Albania.

Re "The next Americans," Opinion, May 27 Tomas R. Jimenez pretends that the reason immigration legislation is controversial is described by the question, "What effect will these permanently settled immigrants have on American identity?" Like other apologists for the illegals, Jimenez tries to erase the distinction between legal immigrants who have a right to be here and illegal aliens who do not. This is our home. If a man breaks into your home, you throw him out. He has no "right" to demand that he be counted with the invited guests or be made a member of the family with a voice about who else can come into your home.

Re "Mayor chides ICE for workplace raids," April 10 L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says that federal agents should target criminal gang members and not legitimate businesses. But federal agents have no interest in "legitimate" business. Immigration and Customs Enforcement targets businesses that choose to employ illegal aliens. Apparently, Villaraigosa is incapable of differentiating legal from illegal. James Hopkins Long Beach -- I was outraged by Villaraigosa's call for the Department of Homeland Security not to enforce federal laws against hiring illegal immigrants.

Re "Having degree of anxiety," July 8 Excuse me, I just got up off the floor after reading about the illegal aliens graduating from UCLA. Another feel-sorry-for-the-criminals article in The Times. I especially enjoyed reading that Loyola Marymount sets aside specific scholarships for illegal immigrants. My son had good grades and a perfect score on the SAT, but he didn't get any academic scholarships while attending UC Irvine. Rock Johnson Palm Springs -- Currently, the United States has a labor shortage in technology, nursing and education, to name a few fields.