Lining up on immigration

Re “It’s not so funny when it’s real,” Opinion, Aug. 25

Tamar Jacoby wrote: “And imagine California ‘without a Mexican’ a year or two from now: crumbling roads, understaffed hospitals, unbuilt classrooms and more.”

Why not imagine a California where the artificial surplus of workers created by illegal immigration has been removed? The shortage of workers will drive up wages to a point where a person can work in those positions and earn enough to support their families. Why not imagine a California where some of the wealth created by people doing those jobs goes into their pockets instead of to employers paying substandard wages?

I can imagine, but I try to do so with a clear head and a hard nose.

Jim Rupp

Lakewood

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A day without a Mexican is not something I favor or look forward to. But a day without an illegal immigrant, while not likely to happen, would be something to shout about. The no-match blitz is long overdue. If farms need workers, there are plenty of programs that allow them to bring non-U.S. citizens into the country without saddling their local communities with the burden of educating the children of the workers or providing medical care. Farmers should be accepting these responsibilities. If the no-match blitz works and companies can prove they need workers because Americans won’t take the jobs, the federal government will pass legislation to allow companies to legally hire the employees they need.

Bonnie Owen

Marina del Rey

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Jacoby’s article should be mandatory reading for politicians, anti-immigrant activists and business people alike. Immigration law reform is as critical as enforcement. We have built a false economy on the backs of illegal immigrants. While we bask in our lifestyle, we disdain those who are willing to do the back-breaking jobs that make it possible. The immigration dike is leaking, and, at some point, we will run out of fingers to plug the leaks to keep it from bursting. Until those anti-immigrant protesters at our local home improvement centers stop hiring illegal immigrants, we will continue sprouting new leaks. Our economic flooring will collapse and there won’t be anyone around willing to take the low wages to fix it.

Victor M. Franco Jr.

Los Angeles

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Perhaps the most absurd comment Jacoby makes is that reducing the number of illegal aliens in the state will lead to “crumbling roads, understaffed hospitals, unbuilt classrooms and more.” If she ever deigned to venture outside her parallel universe, she would find that we already have those problems. And they are most assuredly not caused by a shortage of illegal aliens.

Lance B. Sjogren

San Pedro

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I guess the Confederacy was right. Without slavery, the entire agricultural (and industrial) economy will collapse. So keep the illegal immigrants coming.

Irving Moskovitz

Pacific Palisades