Tuesday, October 30, 2007

What We Are Afraid Of

David Williford wrote an angry letter to the Houston Chronicle. He is very concerned that the DREAM ACT would have been amnesty. His most ludicrious statement was "that there would be no verification process that they were in fact part of that person's family" actually he framed it as a question, but it still looks like he believes such a prepostorous notion. Was he thinking DNA tests?

His other statement which sounds more mean spirited than the Chronicle did in presenting the GOP as a bunch of non-caring people is that the DREAM ACT would allow any: thug, murderer, criminal, whomever could have waltzed right into the United States

Mr. Williford has not read or doesn't believe any of the results from the numerous studies (a number from independent sources, government agencies etc.) that immigrants have a much lower crime rate.

In the meantime the NYT labels its Letters to the Editor on its "Illegal" editorial as "Unleasing a Storm" -- a number of letters were posted and only one agreed that using the word illegal was inappropriate. I guess that means that they recieved an overwhelming number of negative responses -

When I asked people about all this those that are wanting the border to close say the U.S. is losing everything from the quality of neighborhoods, to safety, to its culture etc. The fear is extraordinary. For those who are having such intense reactions of hatred, I urge them to re-think such extreme responses. Sounds like their terror is about losing the most precious thing they have - or even perhaps their lives.

Its true that immigration changes lots of things. But the real change is what is going on with the earth and the future of our landscape where we'll be seeing many more natural disasters like Katrina and the California wildfires.. Or that so many of our young people are dying in Iraq. It could hit any family except perhaps that of an upper level government official or corporate administrator. Yes, your regular America is at risk. But its not from the guy that crosses the desert in the dark.




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Houston Chronicle Letters to the Editor
DREAM editorial's failures
October 30, 2007

THE editorial board's comments regarding the DREAM Act were selected to paint a picture of a mean-spirited Republican Congress but failed to explain how it was that the DREAM Act was nothing more than amnesty. (Please see Monday's editorial "Mean achievement.") Why did the editorial not also mention that there is no deportation once a person is eligible per the act, that a person can bring over an unlimited number of family members, but that there would be no verification process that they were in fact part of that person's family? Or that it would overburden the government to try to prove that persons were in this country before the age of 16, and given the plethora of false identification circulating in the illegal commu-nity, it would be easy enough to show the most minimal of evidence for verification? Since verification would have been almost impossible, any thug, murderer, criminal, whomever could have waltzed right into the United States.

DAVID WILLIFORD
Houston


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5256152.html

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