DYING DREAM
It's time to do something rational: Your analysis of the state of the illegal immigration problem in the United States was right on ("Return to Sender," Jim Schutze, December 23). It's true that nobody knows what this will look like when — and if — President Barack Obama and his administration ever get off their behinds and do something rational.
It's also true that dingbats like the legislator from Texas are running the show. It used to amaze me that people like her could even get a forum. Not anymore! Not with bigoted [soon-to-be] state Senate president Russell Pearce in charge in our own state. Sad commentary.
Maria Marquez, Phoenix
Shot in the crotch by Pearce and Brewer: Don't [state] Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer know that they've shot us in the crotch with [Arizona Senate Bill] 1070?
They have sold us out, in Pearce's case because of prejudice against Mexicans, and in Brewer's case because of political expediency.
During the worst recession since the Great Depression, they have driven out a huge segment of our economy — and now Brewer's cutting state programs that benefit all of us! Where's the dollars and sense, Governor?
Ted Matthews, Tucson
They'll get theirs: I would like to think that the likes of state Senator Russell Pearce and that old-bitch legislator in Texas would one day get theirs. But I won't live that long.
John Harrison, Sun City
Simple enforcement is the answer: Because you probably feel removed from any negative effect of illegal immigration yourself, your first reaction is compassion toward the dispossessed.
Well and good. Practice this reaction well. You can use it on your grandchildren one day after what was left of U.S. prosperity is capsized by the flood of Third World poverty.
Solving every problem south of the border is simply impossible. Making sure that these problems don't run amok in this country [isn't]. And, yes, simple enforcement is part of the answer.
Try saving some of your compassion for the millions of construction workers, meat packers, and food handlers that illegal immigration has left jobless.
Meanwhile, do you quit trying to enforce the laws against robbery because people keep breaking them?
The driving force behind New Times' series on [the immigration] issue is that people from outside U.S. borders have an inalienable right to become U.S. citizens. That, in fact, this country needs a constant flow of immigrants.
Note to New Times: They don't, and we don't.
Larry Boning, city unavailable
Immigrants contribute more: On average, undocumented immigrants pay disproportionately high taxes and contribute more than they consume.
Kit Carson, Phoenix
Don't panic about Lamar Smith yet: Great piece. Two minor quibbles.
First, there is no Baptist Church in the way that there's a Catholic Church, and your reference to the National Immigration Forum suggests that Baptists generally support path-to-citizenship immigration reform. I'm not sure it's wise to ever attribute any position to Baptists generally.
Second, thank you for shining a light on the wang-brained Lamar Smith. He's been that way for years, but that leads to my second quibble. He's been trying to build a deportation coalition for years and years in Congresses that were more conservative than the incoming House, and he has never succeeded. Certainly we should be aware of him, but I wouldn't panic just yet.
J. Erik Jonsson, city unavailable
Pass the DREAM Act, for heaven's sake: Sorry, but I entertain an extremely low tolerance for bigots, ignorant people, racists, and those unfortunate souls with a chronic lack of common sense. It seems that individuals/organizations opposed to passage of the DREAM Act definitely fit one of the above descriptions.
Frankly, I am sick of hearing the ridiculous debate raging around this proposed legislation. And imagine how sick, anguished, and justifiably angry these young adults must feel, those who would and should benefit from enactment of the proposed legislation.
For they must live their daily lives — through no fault of their own — in mental, emotional, and legal limbo because of their so-called "illegal" immigration status. Actually, I doubt that the label "illegal alien" [fits] for these young adults, and I question the constitutionality of attempting to prosecute [them] under this statute (Title 8 of the United States Code, Section 1325).
Does anyone ever remember as a child being uprooted from their home, school, friends, relatives, and familiar environment due to a decision by their parents to relocate?
Give me a break, [Congress], and exercise some not-so-common sense these days. Pass the DREAM Act, for heaven's sake! And do so with a sane, logical, rational piece of legislation. No unduly restrictive or harsh requirements for qualification.
John A. Adkisson, Goodyear
