Illegality doesn’t fit into reforms

Re “Don’t forget immigration

reform,” Opinion, March 22

Immigration “reform” advocates such as Dowell Myers and Manuel Pastor fail to explain the failure of the last immigration reform act -- the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. This act proved that immigration reform without serious enforcement makes the problem worse, not better.

Most of us in opposition to so-called reform proposals certainly agree that there are benefits to orderly, controlled immigration. Yet a failure to control immigration is no different from failing to control imports into our country. There is a great deal of harm that comes from failing to control who and what crosses our borders. If Myers and Pastor truly want constructive dialogue on legalization for illegal immigrants (which is really what reform means), they should offer serious proposals on how to prevent having to debate this issue again two decades from now.

Gary Thornton

Montebello

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Once again, I read an article extolling the benefits of “immigrants” while not distinguishing between whether they are legal or illegal. I wonder if Myers and Pastor considered one aspect of the controversy not normally discussed -- the effect of an influx of more people into an area such as Los Angeles County. The authors write that one-third of Los Angeles County residents are immigrants (legal? illegal?) and that two-thirds of our youth are their children.

Daily we read about problems caused by overpopulation -- loss of open land to urban encroachment, more automobiles on our crowded roads and the dwindling financial resources of our state and local governments. These problems will be made worse by rapidly multiplying segments of our population. That’s hardly a benefit.

David Connit

Los Angeles