Criminals seeking asylum

Re “Man fights deportation by invoking his former gang ties,” June 3

As I read this article, I cannot help but wonder if criminals such as Gerson Alvarado-Veliz may use this line of defense to stand in front of the line for legal resident status, ahead of the skilled workers and family members in the pending Senate bill. As ludicrous as the bill is, this just adds a cherry on top. Shouldn’t criminals here illegally face whatever punishment is meted out in their own country? This is truly an extraordinary stretch from anything close to protecting human or civil rights.

JEANNETTE WEBBER

Rolling Hills Estates

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Let me see if I have this right. Violent, vicious Central American gangsters in the U.S. illegally are asking for asylum because they are violent, vicious gangsters who could come to a bad end back home. This immigration mess has plunged into outright insanity.

DENNIS CAMPBELL

Aztec, N.M.