Letter: Illegal immigration a never-ending cycle

Friday, Aug. 18, 2006 | 9:09 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun's Aug. 16 editorial, "It's acres away for farmers":

In reference to your lament concerning the article headlined "Shortage of farm workers hitting organic growers hard," due to the increase in border security, I, too, commiserate with the farmers' plight. After all, I buy mostly organic products and, consequently, will be one of those affected by these shortages.

If I understood the editorial correctly, the suggestion is being made that the only solution is to provide easy access for more people south of the border to be able to enter our country freely. What is puzzling to me by this proposal is that we already have a preponderance of illegal immigrant workers in this country who, as we are constantly reminded, are willing to do work "Americans won't do." If that is the case, why can't some of these "willing workers" take up the slack in the farmworker deficiency? Why do we need more?

One thing for sure, once we grant citizenship to the millions of illegal workers already here and they then become "Americans," they no longer will want to do the jobs that Americans won't do, either. Then what? I think everyone already knows the answer to that.

Betty Reynolds, Las Vegas