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To the editor:
“Leeches upon our taxpayer,” “a disease, both moral and physical — a leprosy — a contamination," "most of the danger springs from the foul and disgusting habits of” these people.
The foregoing aren’t contemporary quotes regarding undocumented immigrants crossing our southern border. The quotes come from 1850s newspaper articles and political speeches directed at Irish immigrants.
The Irish weren’t the only immigrants vilified by nativist sentiment. Immigrants of European Jewish, Asian and Italian extraction were also targeted. Anti-immigration rhetoric was so effective at inflaming grievances that hundreds of new arrivals were lynched in the U.S. between 1870 and 1950.
One particularly egregious episode took place in New Orleans on March 14-15, 1891, when 11 Italian immigrants, acquitted in the killing of Police Chief David Hennessy, were lynched by a mob. This injustice led President Benjamin Harrison to award reparations to the families and establish Columbus Day as a national holiday.
The “moral” disease isn’t endemic to immigrants; it is the warped nativist mindset that gives one human being permission to think and act vilely towards a fellow human being.
Joseph Cannisi
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J.Donne
Students of history know that nativist sentiment in the US has consistently targeted immigrant groups with derogatory language and violence. However, the current issue of illegal immigration is rooted in its societal repercussions and legal impropriety, not a history lesson or histrionics.
The US has the right to set its boundaries and immigration regulations. Illegal immigration undermines sovereignty by disregarding laws and disrupting governance. Millions worldwide want to legally immigrate to the US, paying fees, undergoing medical screenings, biometric examinations, and interviews. Illegal immigration bypasses this legal process.
Elected officials must support immigration authorities to deter undocumented immigrants. Failure to do so is a criminal offense.
“Thurgood Marshall said: ‘Neither race, color, nor frustration can be used as an excuse for lawlessness or anarchy!’”
Wednesday, May 28 Report this
Admin
When someone is fleeing for their life, they don't always have time to follow legalities.
Wednesday, May 28 Report this
reenjoe
“To do evil a human being must first of all believe that what he's doing is good, or else that it's a well-considered act in conformity with natural law."
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Thursday, May 29 Report this
J.Donne
"America will be a country of generosity and warmth, but we will have law and order." -Anonymous
Thursday, May 29 Report this
wpeakes
@J. Donne
You are correct that the "US has the right to set its boundaries and immigration regulation". Full stop.
I have to point out, however, that the problem of undocumented immigration is a complex one that has many facets and requires a nuanced approach in order to get the situation more manageable. Why not begin with the businesses and private individuals who quietly and secretly seek out undocumented immigrants so they can save money? Have you ever been outside of a Home Depot store in the early morning? There are also other "gathering" places just like that all over the city and suburbs. Who do you think those pickup trucks are looking for as day laborers? Without addressing this, the incentive for undocumented immigration will persist. Let's start there rather that fixate on people who only want to support themselves and their families.
I also have to remind you that not having documentation to confirm your immigration status in this country is a civil, not criminal, offense. However, the failure of elected officials to "support immigration authorities to deter undocumented immigrants" is a political offense that is easily remedied.
The United States has been very, very fortunate to thrive as it has for so long while so many people in this world are struggling mightily for the very basics. To whom much is given, much is required.
Thursday, May 29 Report this
J.Donne
Kudos for bring to light that illegal immigration is a complex problem and requires a nuanced approach. Addressing businesses and individuals who seek out undocumented immigrants for labor is critical as it incentivizes undocumented immigration.
The United States has flourished while many struggle for basic necessities, but this isn’t a crime. It’s a result of our civilization and values, guided by natural law and later replaced by positive law. Natural law is based on morality, while positive law freed law from moral, religious, and mystical assumptions.
Natural law theories are often criticized as philosophical, but positive law theories threaten to separate law from morality. This shift has led to a global hegemony disregarding traditional moral values, from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s principles to Donald J. Trump’s.
Thursday, May 29 Report this
reenjoe
The above letter is neither a history lesson nor histrionics. It draws a straight line from past ugly nativist sentiment to today's anti-immigrant rhetoric.
America has a very bad past (and present) with regard to the treatment to those considered "others". Slavery, broken treaties with Native Americans, the Chinese Exclusion Act, Jim Crow laws, the Johnson-Reed quota Act, segregation, bans on mixed race marriage, lynch mobs and more. Behind all of this is nativism, which persists to this day.
Every generation that took part in this ugly past had their justifications for it; today's anti-immigration advocates are no different.
If the "legal process" were behind the current abuses of undocumented immigrants, then why is Trump also targeting 500,000 legal Green card holders and those with Temporary Protected status and why did he cut legal immigration quotas??? Don't bother to respond, the question answers itself.
Wednesday, June 4 Report this