Drawing the lines on immigration

Re “Immigrant Overhaul Plan Stalls in Senate,” April 7

I cannot believe that our legislators are debating length of residency as one of the determinants for citizenship. Is there any significance to a two-year period compared with a period of one year and 364 days? Can you imagine the costs of administering the programs that are being offered? Can you imagine the terrible emotional burdens that would be inflicted? The vast majority of illegal immigrants are good people and will be good citizens.

This country should offer citizenship to every person who is residing here, who is not a criminal, and who wants to be an American citizen -- within a specified time frame. Those who do not come forward should be deported or put on a list for a review process. The billions of dollars and the millions of hours that would be saved by this process can be used to secure our borders and ports and to educate and train those who are in need.

DONALD L. HAGER

Los Angeles

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Upon hearing of the Senate’s latest amnesty proposal for illegal aliens, I thought of the story of Esau, in which he sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage. Then I realized that was unfair. Esau sold only his inheritance. Our national leadership stands ready to sell out American wages and American sovereignty.

AARON SMITH

Carlsbad

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There is a constant harangue that illegal immigrants should be punished, deported or at least not given any break because they broke the law. Seldom are we hearing that employers who hire illegal immigrants should be punished. Let’s punish these employers and raise the wages on the jobs the illegal immigrants most often do until there are Americans who will do the jobs. If we are to believe in supply and demand in selling, why not in hiring? When the employers supply enough money, legal workers will demand the jobs.

KENNETH HART

Long Beach

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This is chaos! Our self-congratulatory senators have declared open season on our borders, making it clear they will not uphold our immigration laws if vast numbers take to the streets and demand rights to which they are not entitled. What a slap in the face to all whose families waited in line to enter this country legally. Look for ever-increasing waves of new illegal immigrants from all over the world who now know that the fast track to U.S. citizenship is to first break our laws.

LAURELLA A. CROSS

Irvine

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Re “Borderline acceptable,” editorial, April 7

The Times is in for quite a shock when “faux-populist bluster,” like Rep. Tom Tancredo’s warnings about senatorial sellouts, boomerangs against the stealth amnesty proposals of Sens. Edward Kennedy and Arlen Specter.

Victor Hugo nailed it when he said, “There is one thing stronger than all the kings and queens, and all the armies of the world combined, and that is the power of an idea whose time has come.”

And that idea is that no democratic society can indefinitely allow a relentless flood of illegal immigrants to contravene its laws, violate its borders, overwhelm its infrastructure and social systems, diminish job possibilities for its indigenous uneducated and poor and degrade its way of life, as is happening throughout the nation.

MICHAEL SCOTT

Glendora