Immigrants and Tax Revenues

* In response to “Soon We’ll All Be Dependent on Immigrants,” Column Left, June 1:

The statement by Kevin De Leon, “The immigrant who washes dishes in a chic restaurant in Santa Monica subsidizes the Social Security senior citizen in Kentucky,” misses the point. The immigrant who is legally here and is a taxpaying employee is not the problem. In fact most people who are working taxpayers are immigrants of a sort, if not from another country a different state!

The immigrant who is not legal, who cannot find work, who is overloading the capacity of the state, is the problem. On the other side of the page (“A New Climate for Control of Our Border,” by Deane Dana, Column Right), on the same day, it was reported that 65% of the babies born at the Los Angeles County-operated hospitals were to undocumented mothers; this shows how large the problem is. These babies and their mothers use water, services, county medical facilities, etc. Even though we are taught to be sympathetic to others, there comes a time when we must realize that there is a capacity that cannot be exceeded. The capacity of the state to provide a simple necessity, such as water, has been demonstrated as well as medical services, housing, etc.

De Leon would do his Immigration and Education Center a service if he made those who plan on entering the United States do so legally, and have work lined up before making the move.

ROBERT BERGSTROM

Woodland Hills

* There is no anti-immigrant xenophobia in California. I am an immigrant so I should know. I also know that all of us who come to this country have a duty and an obligation to assimilate into the mainstream.

Americans are very kind hosts. They accept everybody for who they are, so let’s introduce ourselves. We have to learn English, of course, which after all is the primary language of this country. I am very resentful that my tax dollars go to print government forms in several other languages--and I too work more than 49 hours a week.

MILKA MILLER

Studio City

* I am grateful to De Leon for his column. For in it he has confirmed a long-held suspicion of mine, that Social Security is really a gigantic Ponzi scheme, the solvency of which is dependent upon an ever-increasing sphere of new contributors. And since America’s non-immigrant birthrate is almost at replacement levels, we obviously need a huge influx of immigrants to keep the system growing and therefore afloat.

Imagine, our highly industrialized country is going to be saved by the high birth rates of Third World countries.

BRENT WHITE

Newhall

* As De Leon’s article indicated, we may be dependent upon legal immigrants. However, illegal immigrants do not have Social Security or pension plans. Who is going to pay the bill for aging, ill illegal aliens?

DONALD A. EISNER

Encino