Letter: Immigrants deserve thanks for hard work

Sunday, June 24, 2007 | 7:08 a.m.

Amid all the immigration hyperbole, rhetoric, discussion, blather, xenophobia, etc., when I cut my strawberries for a delicious shortcake dessert , I say thank you.

As I prepare my lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers for my salad, I say thank you.

Thank you to all those who work in the fields, often far away from family and loved ones, who toil in the hot sun, in the dust , and who don't have decent wages and health care.

Thank you for putting strawberries and vegetables on my table for my family and loved ones!

You do so much for us, we should be asking: What can we do for you?

Right or wrong, legal or illegal, no one on God's earth, no self-serving politician, no self-righteous right-wing newspapers and radio stations , can deny, refute or dispute one underlying fact: that these hard working, gentle souls' only motivation is to make a better life for their loved ones, thereby preserving the very essence of our social order, the family unit.

Even though I'm a constant and determined detractor of President Bush's policies, I have to support the president's position on his humane and comprehensive immigration bill.

Joe Beltran, North Las Vegas