Letter: President, Congress inept on immigration

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

Walter Gunther's June 18 letter, "Politicians' stance on immigration disgusting," made several valid points. Mr. Gunther's assertion that "illegal immigration makes a mockery of our laws" and "their allegiance (illegals) is not to America" carries a great deal of truth.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against immigration. I'm against illegal immigration. This great country was built largely by immigrants who came here to share in the American dream. Most of those millions who came here, however, came in legally. They came through the front door, not the back door. We have always taken pride in the fact that we are a nation of laws. We must continue to embrace and push that concept.

One has to wonder what our elected officials are thinking, if at all, with their recent inept attempts to solve the immigration problem. There are 12 million to 14 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. Most of the illegals pay very little, if any, taxes.

In October President Bush signed a measure into law authorizing the construction of a fence along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Very few miles of fence have been constructed. Our borders are still wide open, and the flow of illegals into this country continues.

Our elected officials have told us that it's next to impossible to deport all the illegals who are here. They also tell us that it's necessary to expand a "special workers program" for those illegals while they are documented and move toward citizenship. Several members of Congress, along with our president, have tried to convince us that this "special workers program" is not really a form of amnesty.

One has to wonder! Maybe pigs can now fly!

Larry Burgess, Henderson