Amnesty and INS’ Good Will

In his letter to the editor (Jan. 31), Amin David, president of Los Amigos of Orange County, shows that he is typical of that small but loud group that tenaciously opposes immigration law reform and won’t let go regardless of the fact that the law is a fait accompli. He fails to see that his comments serve only to create more uncertainty in the Latino community--his own constituency.

The tactic of this group is to personally attack me rather than to stand with the INS and a multitude of ethnic groups to urge qualified illegal aliens to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain legal status.

When the final chapter is written on implementation of the new law, I believe that the INS will come in for unbelievable praise for the monumental effort it has carried out. With only a few months left in the legalization program, we can almost foresee a stunning “super bowl” victory.

The fact that more than 85% of the applicants have come directly to INS for assistance--an occurrence that even the most optimistic forecaster had not predicted--is evidence of the good will that INS has created in the ethnic communities.

It would be a sad commentary if any alien--even one--would hesitate and fail to file because of negative and misleading remarks made by David or his fellow cynics.

HAROLD W. EZELL

Regional Commissioner,

U. S. Immigration

and Naturalization Service

Los Angeles