Letter to the Editor: Illegal immigration

Dear Editor: 

I just finished reading Mr. Guerra’s editorial on Donald Trump’s statements on illegals.

Needless to say I am sick and tired of these gutless politicians demagoging a topic and then pandering to a constituency, crying that all they are here for is to do the jobs Americans won’t do, and that they boost the economy. That is crap. They are doing the jobs Americans want to do, but can’t because illegals are doing them for far less. 

Their negative effect on the economy is obvious; housing, welfare, education, medical, criminal, and the vast majority who do not pay taxes, or worse, those who are using someone else’s Social Security number and not paying taxes. The financial benefits promoted are just not true. Someone has to have the cajones to speak up about it.

I am not a Trump spokesman nor am I sure I would even vote for him in a primary, but one thing is for sure: I support wholeheartedly what he said. Now could he have phrased it a little better? Yes, but look at the content: is Mexico sending us their best and brightest? If you are a Mexican, middle or upper class, educated, and established, chances are you are probably content and will not be sneaking over the border. The vast majority (not all, for those who will demagogue) of those coming across are either poor, sick (seeking U.S. healthcare), pregnant, and, yes, some criminals; these are not the best and brightest Mexico has to offer.

It is frustrating when the mob rule immediately pounces on those who bring to light what is actually happening rather than try and work to actually help these people. Maybe if they focused their energy to help provide programs in their country they may have incentive to stay.

In California nobody wants to look at the huge negative effect of the massive influx of illegals on traffic, hospital ER waits, crime, social services, the education system, and even the drought. Look at the City of Downey; everywhere you go in Downey the predominate language is Spanish. Personally, I am addressed in Spanish in nearly every business I go into. Correspondence from the schools and other agencies come to my house in Spanish. There is no effort whatsoever to learn English. There is absolutely no desire to integrate into our American society.

Then there is the attempt to portray or compare the current illegal immigrants to those of the last century, even those from Mexico. I know for a fact that those who came in the early and mid-1900’s were proud to call this country home, learned the language and actually looked forward to integrating into the American way. Those who came by boat were rushed through Ellis Island, stripped, bathed, sprayed with antiseptic powder and then processed. In many cases, if the person processing your paperwork could not read your writing, chances are you ended up with a new name. You needed a sponsor and a way to provide for yourself. No welfare, EBT, driver’s licenses, multi-lingual forms, and the list go on and on. These people were so thrilled to be here they wanted to be Americans.

Compare that to today, God forbid.

Daniel Cole
Downey