Letters: Immigration reform shouldn’t be personal
Re “A friendship of note,” Column One, July 12
The heartwarming story of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and illegal immigrant Astrid Silva, who was brought to the U.S. as a child and wrote letters to Reid telling him of her life, shows why personal experiences are a terrible basis for legislation. The moving story of one person could end up affecting every person in the U.S.
The absurdity of allowing the personal to dictate the political would be obvious if the story were about, say, how some politician’s views on this issue were affected by the fact that a close loved one had been killed by an illegal immigrant.
Everyone has sympathy for the 4-year-old brought to the United States decades ago and who is now a perfect potential citizen. But the current proposed legislation covers millions whose stories don’t pull at the heartstrings.
Tailor the legislation to Reid’s friend, and it would pass in two seconds. Bloat it into a mega-bill, and it deserves to die.
Dave Goodwin
Los Angeles
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