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 "Hope is paying a visit again," May 18 Once again we have a "cry me a river" story in The Times about the plight of illegal aliens. Hope is not paying a visit again. My son was killed in 2010 after being struck by an illegal alien motorist. Hope is awakening from a nightmare and realizing your loved one is still alive and wasn't one of the more than 4,000 people a year killed by illegal alien drivers. (That's from my own research, based on a study done by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.)

Border agent Jose Luis Maldonado raises his binoculars and scans the desert horizon, looking for would-be migrants making the perilous crossing into the United States. When he finds them, he doesn't arrest them. Rather, he makes sure that they know what dangers they face and lets them go their way. If they're in trouble, he helps.

SACRAMENTO - Except for illegal immigrants, no group has more at stake in the national fight over immigration reform than California farmers. "It doesn't pay to plant a product if you can't harvest it," notes Mark Teixeira of Santa Maria, who says he had to let 22 acres of vegetables rot last year because he couldn't find enough field hands to gather the crop. "That hurts. " As security has tightened along the California-Mexican border, the flow of illegal immigrant labor into the nation's most productive agriculture state has slowed significantly, farm interests say. "It's very difficult to find crews compared to three or four years ago," reports Greg Wegis, a fifth-generation Kern County farmer who grows cherries, almonds, pistachios and tomatoes, among other crops.

Regarding your Aug. 6 editorial ("Keep Open a Window to Police"): "detaining illegal aliens who had committed no crime"? The last time I looked, it was a crime to enter this country without permission and proper papers. This is why those who enter without permission are called illegal aliens--they are here illegally, having broken federal law in the process. DUNCAN McCARTHY San Diego

I object strongly to Amin David's attack (Dec. 28) on the term "illegal alien" and how in his opinion it's use is now somehow "Un-American." These "illegal aliens" are in fact criminals who have violated federal law by entering our country and accepting employment illegally. To top this, the "illegal aliens" are now: 18% of the state prison population, 31% of County Jail population, 75% of all narcotic prosecutions in the county, involved in over half the murders in Santa Ana, etc. Facts are facts!

In rebuttal to Artha R. Wilber's letter (May 5): Do you not see that the so-called border illegal aliens need food and money to exist. Their government is not supporting their basic needs. Referring to the Mexican illegals as "strawberry pickers," instead of human beings, is a common "red-neck" philosophy. Don't you see that your uneducated and blind hatred leads to a labeling of people who have come to the United States as the ideal place to start at the bottom and have a chance to feed themselves and us. Try examining your patriotism.

Unlicensed drivers in California -- the vast majority of whom are illegal immigrants -- are nearly three times as likely to cause a fatal crash as licensed drivers, according to a study by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The report suggests that merely meeting the modest requirements necessary to get a license -- passing a written exam and driving test -- could improve road safety and help reduce the several thousand fatalities that occur in the state each year. "If you don't hold people accountable to acceptable standards, then we get people that aren't prepared and don't have the skill set," said Tyler Izen, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League.

The well-crafted documentary "Addicted to Fame" covers several turbulent years around the making of 2007's "Illegal Aliens," a low-budget, B-movie flop that starred the late Anna Nicole Smith. "Addicted," written, directed and edited by David Giancola, who was also the ill-fated director and an executive producer (along with former "Dynasty" actor John James) of "Illegal Aliens," charts how the notoriously flighty Smith's involvement both unexpectedly propelled and severely burdened the sci-fi spoof.

The first day of a big week for the third branch of government brought a ruling on Arizona's immigration law that was less than satisfying for Justice Antonin Scalia and the Rush Limbaugh wing of the U.S. Supreme Court. A five-vote majority that included Chief JusticeJohn G. Roberts Jr.struck down all but one provision of the controversial statute, asserting that the federal government has preeminent authority for setting immigration policy. They did leave intact the most controversial element of Arizona's disputed law -- the mandate placed on local police to determine the immigration status of anyone detained for other violations if there is reason to suspect that person is in the country illegally -- but they ruled that taking further steps to kick undocumented persons out of the country or to keep them from seeking work or require that they carry documentation of citizenship are not powers allocated to the states.  Scalia scoffed at this.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court justices, hearing arguments Wednesday over Arizona's tough immigration law, suggested they were inclined to uphold parts of the state's law but may block other parts. The Obama administration lawyer who wanted the entire law struck down ran into skeptical questions from most of the justices, who said they saw no problem with requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people who are stopped. But the justices also said they were troubled by parts of the Arizona law that made it a state crime for illegal immigrants to not carry documents or seek work.

One San Bernardino County supervisor's plan to require restaurants to inform customers whether the establishment does immigration background checks on its employees was overwhelmingly rebuffed Tuesday by fellow supervisors. Supervisor Neil Derry, the measure's sponsor, was the only one to vote for the plan, which would have color-coded the A, B and C grade cards that restaurants receive during annual health inspections. Restaurants are required to display the cards. Three supervisors voted against the measure and one abstained, officials said.

As my colleague David Savage reports, the Supreme Court wasn't very hospitable to the Obama administration's argument that Arizona's infamous Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act unconstitutionally infringed on federal authority over immigration. Worse than that, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. inadvertently (we hope) provided opponents of illegal immigration with a snazzy sound bite. Section 2(B) of the Arizona law provides that “[f]or any lawful stop, detention or arrest made” by Arizona law enforcement, “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person.” It also states that “[t]

Unable to escape the ire of his party, Rick Perry on Wednesday backed away from a controversial remark that questioned the compassion of people who opposed granting in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. At Thursday's Republican presidential debate in Orlando, Fla., the Texas governor defended his decision to sign into law a policy that allows the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition by suggesting that opponents of the policy "don't have a heart.