Letter: Feds partly to blame for downtown ills
I have followed with interest the Red Line comments, city council and redevelopment agency statements on the problems with downtown Madera. It is not a simple problem and does not lend itself to one simple solution.
One of the elements that people seem reluctant to address is the decades of failure on the part of the federal government to enforce immigration laws. As a result we and many other communities are now inundated with large numbers of illegal aliens not only from Mexico but from other Central and South American and other countries.
The government agencies in the area have contributed indirectly to the problem. We provide low-cost housing and down payment assistance to people who are — at least supposed to be — here legally. The problem is that there are no restrictions on “cousins” “parents” or: siblings” who can move in after the home is obtained. Anyone who does not think that a large percentage of the people who frequent the downtown area are here illegally needs a fast reality check.
Now we are supposed to cater to their needs, turning a vital part of the city back to what they left home to come here for to begin with. They seem to have no intention of assimilating into the culture as other immigrants have. If I were to move to another country I would learn the language and not expect or demand special consideration. This is not racism, as I am sure some will believe, but a simple statement of the facts.
There will never be a real solution to this problem until our borders are secured and until employers require proof of legal status. Those who are here illegally now need to be identified and given temporary guest worker status and then required to return home and seek entry by legal means.
We need to change the law so that children born to illegal aliens are not automatically American Citizens and end the “ anchor baby” component of the problem. Until we do these things we are simply treating a symptom and not the disease. If decisive action is not taken we will continue to have a huge drain on our economy and public services, since many studies show that they use much more than they contribute.
Gordon E. Skeels,
Madera
Subject: Sports Page
We’ve beat you four years straight and you’re crying about this. Plus we never scored in the beginning of the games, always the end, so stop crying about it.
I would like to remind you that there are other kinds of illegal immigrants, they don’t just come from Mexico, South America, or Central America. They come from Canada, they come from the many European nations, they come from Russia, from African nations, from Asian nations…from every where.
Because you can make an assumption about a group of people doesn’t make it right, and your point makes no sense in light of your dramatic assumptions. A drain on resources, huh? Well, you’d be surprised to know how many immigrants pay taxes and are proud to do so. You’d be surprised to know that the number one group on welfare are white women aged 18-26…much more of a drain than illegal immigrants.
Another point…are we actually requiring citizens to “contribute” to the country (I’m assuming you mean monetary contribution due to your use of the word economy), because if that’s what you mean, then you’re effectively stating that one must pay to be an American. Wrong. WRONG.
Reading the beginning of your letter again, it boils down to:
If the feds kept “them” out, we wouldn’t be in this mess. And that’s just a shame, Madera is showing it’s latent bias in this mess, and it’s no wonder we have the problems that we do in this town. We’ll never go forward as long as we have people that are all too willing to label and therefore subjugate people based on race, nationality, country of origin, native language, or immigration status. I implore you to expand your mind quite a bit and look at this issue without bringing any bias into it.
That or don’t try to hide your bias, instead be forthright with it.
Mr. Skeels writes letters related to illegal immigrants and the problems he claims they cause in America and Madera at least a couple times a year to the Madera Tribune(I remember at least two so far this year not counting this one). Don’t worry about it and let his ignorant comments fall on deaf ears. If he gets a reaction he’ll only continue to write in and state many biased nonfacts…