U.S. must uphold immigration laws

It is unfortunate that Steve Smith resorted to silly name-calling in his recent pro-illegal-immigrant column (“Juvenile, divisive and just plain wrong,” On the Town, May 6). That is a sign that he has no facts to present. And many ideas he did present were inaccurate.

Smith said “we didn’t care” that we were importing cheap labor and that “they went to some of our schools” and “visited some of our hospital emergency rooms.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Americans do care about our country. He then states that “Newport-Mesa Unified School District solved the problem by boxing the children of illegal immigrants into a few schools on the Westside.” Again, nothing could be farther from the truth. The problem was not solved; it was moved.

Smith then says illegal immigration is helping our economy. Wrong again ? there is plenty of documentation that shows a net loss. Hospitals have closed, wages are suppressed and billions are spent in California alone to incarcerate illegal-immigrant criminals. This is only a partial listing of the costs to the American taxpayer.

Smith says it “might not be so bad if you’d only come out and reveal what it is you truly want.” OK, here it is: I want the law upheld.

Smith says that we can’t advocate what we want in public “because that action is to round up all of the illegal immigrants and ship them back home.” That is not what I am advocating. In Costa Mesa, I am advocating that if an illegal immigrant commits a major crime, he or she should be deported after doing time, and that if that person returns, we need to be able to clearly identify him or her before he or she commits another offense. There is no focus on victims or sweeps; Smith knows that.

Smith then says “Oh, sure, they’ll tell you that we need to secure our borders, but that’s something we should all be advocating.” I agree, as do most Americans. The problem is that people like Nativo Lopez and Mirna Burciaga do not publicly advocate or work toward that end. And when people like me advocate securing our borders and upholding the law, we are called racists and bigots.

Securing our border is the first step toward a secure America. The second step is to enforce employment laws that are already in existence. Americans expect their laws to be upheld. If there are no jobs for illegal immigrants, they will not come here. Third, deport all illegal immigrants who are breaking the law. Americans are welcoming of all who will respect our laws. Fourth, increase the number that we allow to come here legally. If there really is a demand for jobs, then let folk come here in a legally accountable manner to provide businesses all of the workers they need. Fifth, our president needs to encourage Mexico to do its part. Mexico has the complete ability to have a strong economy. It is the fifth-largest oil producer in the world and No. 1 in silver mining. The problem is corruption and that the wealth is in the hands of a few.

We don’t need to reform our laws; we need to uphold them.