Wrong-headed immigration policy

In more than 60 years of reading the Herald and Herald-Guide, I have never seen a more wrong-headed editorial than the one written by Allen Lottinger in the edition of April 20, 2006.

Lottinger titled his editorial "Immigrants Are Necessary," and then proceeds as though there is nothing wrong with having anywhere from 11 million to 20 million aliens illegally in the United States. Clearly, he sees no difference between those legally in this country and those who are here illegally.

Lottinger writes, "What if we built a wall now between the United States and Mexico as some have suggested? Like Stalin did in Berlin." I'm sure Mr. Lottinger is aware that the Berlin Wall was erected to keep East Berliners from escaping to the West and not to prevent anyone from entering East Berlin, whereas the proposed fence on the U.S.-Mexico border is to keep illegals from entering the U.S.

Lottinger continues, "Hopefully, Congress can come up with an immigration plan that will be fair to all. It should include beefed-up border patrols but not bricks and mortar. It should allow good people of all nations who are interred with the spirit of democracy and freedom to enter. It should keep out those who do not accept the laws as set up in this country."

I wonder how many of those millions who are here illegally even know what democracy means? As for "those who do not accept the laws as set up in this country", that would include everyone who disregarded the laws of the U.S. when they entered the country illegally. Why would we want people here who have no respect for our laws?

Those in favor of allowing illegals into the U.S. and amnesty for those illegals already here have an agenda. Big business, and small business, wants them here merely as cheap labor. The politicians are pandering to them in the hopes that they'll get their votes. The Catholic Church has suffered a serious decline as a result of the homosexual and pedophile problem in the church and look upon those 11 million to 20 million as potential new parishioners. In the meantime, what is really being "interred" is the Constitution of the United States

John S. Perilloux,

Norco