Opinion: The GOP hardliners’ stance on DACA is the act of a dying political party

To the editor: The GOP is a minority party that now controls the three branches of our government. How did this happen? (“Trump is transforming the GOP against legal immigration. Will Congress follow?” Jan. 12)

After the 2012 election, the Republican Party issued an “autopsy” that, among other things, cited immigration reform: “Among the steps Republicans take in the Hispanic community and beyond, we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only. We also believe that comprehensive immigration reform is consistent with Republican economic policies that promote job growth and opportunity for all.”

Republicans have apparently repudiated that support for immigration reform and found a way to succeed with their core constituencies.

Rather than becoming inclusive, Republicans try to restrict the ability of Democratic voters to cast their ballots. Reducing immigration and keeping those who may eventually vote for the opposition out of the country logically follows, as do appeals to the alt-right, the anti-immigrant group NumbersUSA and even neo-Nazis.

It’s now apparent what President Trump meant with his campaign slogan: Make America white again.

Gilbert H. Skopp, Calabasas

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To the editor: My parents made a very difficult decision in 1987, when I was 2 years old, to leave their family in Michoacán, Mexico, and take their children to the United States.

My parents worked long hours in the fields to provide us with what we needed. My dad was able to attend a trade school, which allowed him to open an auto repair shop. Eventually, after working and saving for years, my parents had enough money to apply for a legal permanent resident card, which was a significant hardship for my low-income family.

My parents were able to get themselves and their children permanent resident status. Now, we are all naturalized U.S. citizens. My older sister is a graduate of Cal State San Bernardino, where I am currently working on my master’s in social work. Another sister is working toward her master’s in hospital administration, and my youngest sister is currently an undergraduate in college.

Without the blood, sweat and tears of my hard-working immigrant parents, I could have easily been a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program participant facing the devastation of having to move to a country to which I have no ties.

Bertha Reeves, San Bernardino

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To the editor: By seeking to deport more than 200,000 Salvadorans living in the United States under temporary protected status, Trump will exacerbate a decades-old problem.

Afraid of Soviet influence in Central America, President Reagan funded the corrupt government of El Salvador to oppose leftist guerrillas. Caught between equally deadly conscriptions, many Salvadoran men fled to Southern California, where they had trouble assimilating with black and Mexican communities.

After forming their own enclaves, many of the younger men were busted for street crimes and deported. But they formed networks in jail, and when the newly minted cons returned to a destitute country, vulnerable Salvadorans had a new threat: the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang that was birthed by U.S. dollars, deportation and neglect.

If Trump uproots the law-abiding, taxpaying Salvadorans in the U.S., we’ll long for the MS of the good old days.

Richard Mandl, Canoga Park

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