Insulting to compare illegal immigrants to our forefathers Insulting to compare illegal immigrants to our forefathers (August 19, 2005)

By Warren and Donna McCord

The editorial in the Aug. 5 issue of the Mountain View Voice ("Many sides to the immigrant question") was the final "push" that made us write this response.

To us, it is insulting to compare illegal immigrants from Mexico to our forefathers who came to this country and founded the amazing democracy we enjoy today. The differences are huge:

1) The people who came here to found this country broke no pre-existing laws. The illegal immigrants are called "illegal" because they are.

2) Our founding fathers and other legal immigrants, including those from Mexico, came here to make their home here. The illegal immigrants (as stated in the editorial and other newspaper articles) come here to make money and send it to their home in Mexico. That is the key: Their home is not the U.S. Every dollar sent to their home in another country is a dollar not spent in our local economy.

Think about it. Our local economy is hurting right now. Every time someone hires an illegal immigrant, whether the employer is an individual or a business, a job is taken away from an American citizen.

When a contractor hires an illegal, a union employee loses out. When an individual hires an illegal for gardening or childcare, for example, an honest gardening business or day care center loses a job. What is worse, paying these illegal immigrants (or anyone for that matter) "under the table" is a punch in the gut to our economy.

We wonder why our tax base is shrinking or why our Social Security funds are in jeopardy or why there are fewer entry-level jobs for our teenagers looking for work. Could it be because the number of illegal immigrants in this community, not to mention the rest of the country, has increased dramatically over the last few years?

How can we say, "In many cases these are the only people who will take the lowest-rung work"? These entry-level jobs have been around for years, and American citizens have gladly taken them. In some job markets, these illegal immigrants are responsible for artificially holding wages down.

Maybe if we didn't allow these "lowest-rung jobs" to be taken by illegal immigrants and paid under the table, it would force the employers to pay a fair wage to an American citizen. And maybe that American citizen would spend his our her wages in our city. And maybe that would have a positive impact on our economy.

This country has a legal procedure for people who want to migrate here. Those who choose to enter illegally are not heroes, no matter what the reason. To say they are heroes is an insult to those people who work hard and spend their time and money going through the correct, legal procedures to become American citizens (this includes learning our English language) and make their home here.

We do have compassion for any human being who undergoes suffering, loss, or lack of any kind. And we believe that America is great because of her history of open arms to those who seek freedom and love what we stand for. But we also believe it is time to stop insulting the millions of people who gave up much, including their very lives, to make this country great, by comparing them to people who come to this country with a disrespect for our laws and our culture, and come only to take, not to give.
Warren and Donna McCord live on Tulane Drive in Mountain View.

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