Gov. Wilson and Immigration

George Skelton misses the point in his column (May 2) when he argues that Gov. Pete Wilson is bashing the system, not immigrants. Although the governor’s rhetoric on this issue has suddenly taken a turn toward moderation--attributable to the efforts of organizations such as Proponents for Responsible Immigration Debate and Education (PRIDE)--he continues to frame the issue in a fashion that leads to immigrant bashing. The governor continues to insist that immigrants come for services and thus cost taxpayers money, and he continues to avoid the real pull factor: We provide jobs for immigrants and exploit their labor.

The “lure” for immigrants is not education or emergency medical care, but jobs that employers are more than happy to provide. Thus, immigrants support our economy, not take away from it. Indeed, one must ask what alternatives the governor proposes to eliminating these so-called “lures.” How can he prefer that children be on the streets rather than in classrooms? How can he support the denial of emergency medical and prenatal care that would lead to a deterioration of the public health?

ARTURO VARGAS, Vice President

Mexican American Legal Defense

and Educational Fund, Los Angeles

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* Regarding Skelton’s column: As a non-Hispanic minority, I acknowledge myself as a bigot with the decency to overcome the stereotypes in this racially diverse state. Wilson’s sick and tired choice of topic appalls me: Hearing the word “border” in his speech shows him as an anti-Hispanic opportunist.

Can somebody tell Wilson that although Hispanics compose a substantial number of illegal immigrants, there are other nationalities (Chinese, Filipino, Irish, to name a few) that are notorious for their illegal entry to the United States?

Illegal immigration is not the root of California’s economic woes; poor state funds management is. I’m all for having the federal government paying for the housing illegal immigrants until they are shipped back to where they came from, but Gov. Wilson had more than enough time to “bash the system” during his term.

SARAH FOSTER-DOMINGO

Tarzana

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* The position taken by Wilson to sue the federal government to pay for what illegal immigration costs California may be unpopular, but it makes sense. It is one of the functions of the federal government to protect our borders. It is not doing so. I am not against immigration (I migrated to this country myself) but I am against unregulated and illegal immigration.

Government officials may juggle their figures all they want to prove that illegal immigration has nothing to do with the financial plight of our cities, our counties, and our state; I (and many people like me) do not believe them. We live in this state and we can see that illegal immigration is one of the causes of our financial crisis.

We are running out of money at a time when we need more money than ever to combat a rising crime rate not only by increasing police, building more prisons and stiffening sentences, but above all by improving education and creating new programs that will offer our youth opportunities to acquire marketable skills and become productive citizens (rather than pushing dope or joining a gang). It is difficult to achieve these goals, but it will be a little easier and we will have more resources to allocate to our youngsters if we stop importing a good number of them from abroad.

LILLIAN CERADELLI

San Pedro