I, too, grew up in Arizona. It seems Mr. David Behling has his facts mixed up or is purposely blurring the truth. The discussion is about illegal immigrants, not the million or so legal migrants we welcome to our country each year. They are not “snowbirds” as you put it. Snowbirds came to escape the “snow” from the north, not from down south.

The illegal immigrant serves no other purpose than to be abused by greedy employers who refuse to pay a decent wage yet pay themselves gluttonous wages such as $6.3 million in 2009. (The CEO of Austin Hormel plant.) When you do the math that’s $3,000 per hour. (I’m, sure other companies are similar, but I live in Austin.)

The soldiers returning from their service face 20 percent unemployment, our citizens face 9 or 10 percent unemployment because the plant will hire illegals at $11 to $14 dollars per hour. They hold the jobs that legal citizens should be entitled to at a more suitable wage to support a family, and they know more about a decent work environment. The illegal is left defenseless against an injury or other injustice because they do not know they used to be protected from such unjust working conditions by union rules and state laws that prevent the plant from just letting them go and replacing them with another “illegal.” Yes, they are hard workers who will work for a measly wage, but that doesn’t help our economy or unemployment rate.

People who use the term “immigrant bashers” should do so more carefully. Some people take offense at those who blur the issue. People are listening and reading carefully these days and you appear to be ignorant if you can’t see the difference between legal and illegal immigration. They only help those who would or do abuse human beings and lure people to die a terrible death such as those who snuck into our country on “a train to nowhere.” Look up that documentary and then tell me who’s bashing who. No employer was held accountable for that travesty. They just walk away as if they had nothing to do with it. Sad truly sad.

 

Brian Prentis

Austin