Antonovich’s Illegal Alien Ad

Archbishop Roger Mahoney’s protest (Letters, May 18) of Supervisor Mike Antonvich’s campaign ad calling attention to Southern California’s illegal immigration problem is just the latest installment in a long-running series of actions and public statements casting him as the most openly pro-Hispanic Catholic bishop in modern U.S. history.

There certainly is nothing inappropriate in the archbishop giving attention to the largest ethnic group in his territory, but over the years, in Fresno and Stockton as well as in Los Angeles, he has allowed his obsession with Hispanic relations to blind him to the existence of very serious problems that uncontrolled illegal immigration is creating.

The tasteless remark by the Antonovich aide was regrettable, and I deplore it, but the small furor it caused has tended to obscure the larger reality of the illegal alien problem that the campaign ad was trying to address.

The archbishop’s attitude on this issue in the face of so much alarming data is a classic example of “I’ve already made up my mind, so please don’t confuse me with facts.” I feel, however, that some of these facts are too serious to ignore:

Fact: Illegal aliens are taking great numbers of jobs, however menial, which could have gone to legal citizens who need them.

Fact: Illegal aliens are heavily utilizing scarce housing resources badly needed by many legal citizens.

Fact: Illegal aliens are already placing an intolerable strain on government social services, and every year the situation gets worse.

The most meaningful definition of national sovereignty is the ability of a country to exercise control over its own borders. By this definition, the United States of America has ceased to be a sovereign nation. Our southern border has become porous to the point of being, for practical purposes, non-existent. What constitutes an appropriate level of immigration from the south is a matter for negotiation with Mexico, but serious negotiations cannot take place while no effective control over border crossings is in effect.

The flow of criminal/terrorist elements and drug traffic are serious byproducts, but the major issues are economic. The capacity of the United States to absorb economic refugees is not unlimited. If the human tidal wave is allowed to continue unabated, the viability of American civilization as we know it will be in jeopardy.

As a Catholic myself, I am embarrassed by Archbishop Mahoney’s illegal alien policies, and strongly feel that defying our federal government on this issue is not consistent with the doctrine of our faith. There is nothing in the Gospel that forbids us from using common sense, from guarding our country from invasion, or from taking steps to protect the way of life we have worked hard to create. I pray that our archbishop will wake up to the problems he is creating and aggravating before it is too late.

DAVID T. WOITACH

West Hollywood