Border fence won’t solve the problem

Re “A border bonfire smolders,” Opinion, Nov. 2

A border fence is not going to get the job done. Since when has a fence been effective? Even the East Germans figured that out. And now the experiment is going to be tried again? There will be no different result this time. There is an answer: Enact legislation making the hiring of illegal immigrants a felony punishable by a fine and a minimum of 90 days in prison imposed on the chief executive of the company. If any CEO had to spend one night in jail, the problem would disappear. The only reason these people are in this country is because there are jobs here for them.

Please, Jonah Goldberg, give this problem some real thought, not the pandering nod to absolutists who just want to stand strong for America.

MICHAEL J. KANE

Palm Desert

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Goldberg approves of the Mexican border fence because it sends Americans the message that their leaders are serious about the immigration issue. Spending hundreds of millions, if not billions, we can’t afford on a fence that won’t solve the problem and will stand as a symbol of our country’s failure is not the kind of leadership I’m looking for.

SHEA WOLFENDEN

Los Angeles