Curbs on Illegal Immigration

* In response to “DMV Check of Immigration Touches Off Anger and Praise,” March 2:

As a former prosecutor for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the lesson of this new law is when a state (DMV) agency tries to interpret a federal (immigration) law, what you get is a mess.

Bluntly put, the DMV’s newly published pamphlet, “All You Need to Know About Birth Verification and Legal Presence Requirements,” is a joke. It indicates that the DMV will issue a driver’s license to anyone with a Canadian passport or a Mexican Border Crossing Card. Since when does the possession of foreign documents prove “legal presence” in California? On the other hand, the DMV won’t issue a license to a foreign-born student, professional or investor who the INS certifies is lawfully residing in California!

You be the judge: Should the taxpayers send California’s DMV director to Washington to study the intricacies of federal immigration law, or should we let INS’ Border Patrol, rather than the clerks at the DMV, enforce the immigration laws?

Does anyone seriously expect illegal aliens to stop coming to California because they can’t get a driver’s licenses? The only predictable effects of the new law will be less people driving with licenses and auto insurance, more high-speed auto chases and more profits for those who make their living manufacturing phony green cards.

CARL SHUSTERMAN

Los Angeles

* Regarding the disinformation piece in the Opinion section (“Refine Immigration Policy to Reflect History and the Moment We Live In,” Opinion, Feb. 27), I feel that Ruben Martinez and other Reconquistas should be more honest and open about their true predilections associated with advocacy of that movement, i.e., recover California (for Mexico) by the time-honored non-militant tactic of overwhelming the “enemy” and its resources with massive population inundation, leading to political control (note that already he wants to give illegals the right to vote), the redistribution of wealth (expanded entitlements eligibility), and ultimately realignment with the madre patria .

Understanding an author’s motivation would help readers in evaluating the stated (often unsupported and self-serving) conclusions such as are replete in this column.

B. F. KUNNECKE

Huntington Beach

* Regarding immigration, one has to question a system that makes it far easier to enter this country illegally than legally. What sense does it make? I suggest we put up along all borders turnstile gates that are accessed by simply pressing fingerprints onto a recording screen, which activates an instant photo ID-Social Security card along with a multilingual note that informs our guests, “While you’re here, you will pay taxes.”

The current system drives people and potential tax revenues underground.

I am going through the system now, legally, and I’m paying the price--in the only non-expendable commodity: time. But, don’t look to the INS. It doesn’t make the laws. Actually, my experience with the INS has been quite good. The logjams are at the U.S. consulates. It has to do with an overall self-image by our government that its mission is to control and regulate. What a wonderful world it will be when our adolescent government discovers the joy and productivity outlined by the framers in their “of, by and for the people” foundation for a government in service of its populace.

DAVY HOFFMAN

Santa Monica

* While there is a pressing need to formulate a comprehensive and effective immigration policy, organizations such as Proponents for Responsible Immigration Debate and Education (PRIDE) obfuscate the real crux of the issue (Feb 20). PRIDE carries the torch for the rights of illegal immigrants, but what about the rights of the taxpaying citizens? Can we justify spending millions of tax dollars for public services to illegal immigrants when the state cannot afford to provide a decent education for children or provide affordable health care to our elderly population?

Groups such as PRIDE must realize that California can no longer afford the financial burden of illegal immigration. Claims that reform proposals are nothing more than racist immigrant-bashing are downright false. The U.S. is the only country in the world that cannot control its own borders. Instead of hiring thousands more Border Patrol agents, why not use the U.S. military to help enforce our immigration policies?

FRANK HILL

State Senate, R-Whittier

* I live most of the year every year in Portugal. I don’t expect the Portuguese government to provide for me in any way nor does the government encourage me or anyone else to think it. My children had to spend a semester in intensified tutoring in the language before they were permitted to attend school. It was incumbent on them to learn the language, not for the school to provide them with instruction in English. I don’t understand why anyone arriving here should expect the American taxpayer to provide anything.

RICHARD PERKINS

Palos Verdes