Response To League Of Women Voters Articles On Immigration

To the Editor:

I have been following the League of Women voter articles in the Fayette County Record. The first part appeared in March and included a brief history of immigration from the founding of America to the early 20th century. Part 2 of their expose was titled: ‘Modern Contributions and Ongoing Debates’ regarding immigration.

I am confused by the statement in part 2, “Even undocumented immigrants pay billions each year in local, state and federal taxes, often without being eligible for benefits.”

The writer for the South Central League of Women voters states, “Beyond economics, immigration has continually shaped American culture,” and “It is a myth that there was once a fixed unified American identity that immigration disrupts.”

There is no doubt that individual immigrants have been a great benefit to U.S. prosperity. There is a big difference between individual contributions to society that shape American culture and the illegal immigration of millions as allowed by the previous administration.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 did transform American immigration policy. A book written by congressional journalist and immigration expert Margaret Sands Orchowski, published in 2015, explains the demographic shift of the populations and explores ongoing debates and challenges of immigration policy.

Regarding the “myth of unity,” a search for ‘a fixed unified American identity’ defined the following key elements of a unified American identity: a set core of principled beliefs, shared national symbols, a process where diverse distinct cultural inputs merge into a single, cohesive American output, and “identity rooted not in race or ethnicity, but loyalty to the country’s legal institutions, judicial system, and principles.” To become a citizen of the U.S. the migrant accommodates to the our legal institutions, judicial system, and principles.

The author of this two-part editorial makes no distinction between the legal and illegal immigrant, claiming the current administration is denying Constitutional rights ‘to immigrants’ – without distinguishing legal or illegal status.

The U.S. Constitutional rights belong to U.S. citizens. Review of both Article 5 and Article 14 reinforce observance of U.S. law. Illegal immigrants are not citizens. They have violated U.S. law and therefore should consider deportation as a consequence of their actions.