Taking up immigration reform; Clinton’s objection to building more Israeli settlements; protecting the San Gabriels

Amnesty? No

Re “Bashing ‘them’ again,” March 21

Whether Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner’s anti-immigration position will drive “thousands of Latino immigrants . . . into the arms of the Democratic Party” is irrelevant in the discussion of whether the present level of immigration, legal and particularly illegal, is good for the United States.

Peter Schrag’s implied solution is another amnesty for the 12 million or so illegal immigrants estimated to be in our country. We tried amnesties before and they didn’t work.

In fact, amnesties, plus our present social welfare system (not in existence, dear Mr. Schrag, when “immigrants from southern and eastern Europe -- Italians, Slavs, Greeks, Turks, Jews” -- stepped onto American soil), have provided the incentive for more illegal immigration, with its unwelcome social and economic ramifications.

Mario Troiani
Pasadena

Immigration issues

Re “Framework set for federal immigration bill,” March 19

The Times discussed the latest efforts by Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and the Obama administration to give amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants.

Allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S. to compete with citizens and legal immigrants for jobs is unfair and wrong. In fact, a report by the Migration Policy Institute concedes that “low-skilled native workers who compete with unauthorized immigrants are the clearest losers.”

There are other reasons to oppose amnesty too: It will put a greater strain on our schools, hospitals and government services, and it will increase taxes.

Americans do not want amnesty for illegal immigrants. Our nation’s immigration policy is one of the most generous in the world. We are right to ask that those who want to come here play by the rules, wait their turn and enter legally.

Lamar Smith
Washington
The writer, a congressman from Texas, is the senior Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Re “Senator warns of bill’s fallout,” March 20

Shame on you, Lindsey Graham.

Saying immigration reform is dead this year now that healthcare reform has passed is nothing more than childish ego.

As a leader in the Senate, you are expected to judge each issue fairly and independently, arriving at a conclusion or decision that represents careful consideration and not irritation with other legislation.

You said that if Democrats don’t play the game your way, you’ll take your ball and go home. If you were a child, I would take your ball away and give you a time out. Perhaps more thoughtful South Carolinians will do just that in the next election.

Fred Shaw
Carpinteria

Re “Heat for a hot-button issue,” Editorial, March 20

I would like to offer my analogy of things to come if this measure is passed:

Liberals’ new approach is to allow illegal aliens to become citizens when they admit violating federal law, pay a fine, agree to do community service and learn to speak English.

What if someone decided to rob a federally insured bank and spent the money? Would we let them off the hook if they were caught, admitted the crime, received a fine and learned Spanish?

If we are to uphold our nation’s laws, we must arrest and punish those who violate those laws and denounce those who support these violators.

Art Hernandez
San Dimas

The Times treats as noble the chant of “no more waiting” for amnesty and citizenship by advocates of illegal immigration.

If we accept their claims as legitimate, we can expect to see millions storming our borders and ports asserting, in turn, their demand of “no more waiting” for the right to enter our country.

It is irresponsible of The Times to promote policies that have such dire consequences.

Tim Aaronson
El Cerrito, Calif.

Israel and the peace process

Re “Frankly, Clinton’s right,” Editorial, March 23

The government of Israel is just that -- a government. It is not the nation itself or the Jewish people, any more than the federal government in Washington is the same as the American people. And like any government, Israel’s can be corrupt, incompetent and blind to the best interests of its own people.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is right to criticize the Israeli government, and Israel ignores her criticism at its own risk. Many American Jews are tired of the endless wars in the region and want a two-state solution and peace. Large numbers of Israelis feel the same way, and many of them have voted with their feet, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have emigrated to the U.S. and other countries.

If Israel doesn’t take some positive steps on its own toward a two-state solution, it will continue to exist in a state of siege that will damage its economy even more than it has been damaged already.

Stanton J. Price
Glendale

The inconvenient question of why there was not peace before 1967 is never examined in The Times’ editorial, nor is the question of why the Palestinians did not step forward in 1979 when Anwar Sadat made his heroic visit to Israel. How about the Oslo accords? These missed opportunities allowed a different political voice to emerge in Israel that is hard to put back in the bottle.

The following facts need to be reconciled with The Times’ position that peace talks depend on Israel abandoning its construction projects in East Jerusalem: Many Arab leaders who favored rapprochement with Israel have been assassinated; Israel unilaterally left the Gaza Strip with improved infrastructure, only to be treated to attacks by Hamas; and there has always been a large Jewish presence in Jerusalem.

All the current Israel-bashing is just giving Mahmoud Abbas an excuse to do nothing.

Barry F. Chaitin
Newport Beach

The treasure of the San Gabriels

Re “Maddened over mining,” March 18

The San Gabriel Mountains provide recreation such as hiking, skiing, horseback riding, birding, camping and just plain relaxing away from crowded urban neighborhoods.

The range, which reaches a height of over 10,000 feet, provides a beautiful scenic backdrop and acts as a barrier to the hot desert winds that would destroy the Mediterranean climate we enjoy in the L.A. basin.

Residents of foothill communities enjoy the proximity of Angeles National Forest trails, which lead to mountain peaks, canyons, stream beds and waterfalls and can take a hiker into the wilderness home of the magnificent Nelson bighorn sheep.

Unfortunately, many parts of the San Gabriels and the Angeles Forest are not protected from the destructive mining practices described in The Times. The bench mining process being used by Vulcan Materials will scar the hillsides next to foothill communities such as Duarte. Three cheers for the mayor and residents of that city, who are fighting to protect the environment that made their suburban town unique.

Charles W. Jenner
Los Alamitos

Firearms and the damage done

Re “Family men, with guns,” Column One, March 20

So is this shooting incident between “pillars of their community” an example of how we will be safer when more law-abiding citizens carry handguns, as the advocates of this idea would have us believe?

I guess it will be OK if they only shoot each other.

Mark Temple
Huntington Beach