To the editor:
I’m writing in regard to the pope’s chastisement of the United States on our immigration issues.
The American people took in 1.7 million legal immigrants in 2015. The Vatican is a sovereign nation with recognized borders; I would like to see them take in even 100th of one percent of that many people per year.
We also have an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, many of whom we provide free medical treatment, food, housing, education, judicial processes, and more.
I have no means of proving this, but I suspect that on top of providing for illegal immigrants, the citizens of this nation have been more generous to other nations and their people than any nation in history.
In 1986, the Reagan Administration granted amnesty to roughly 3.2 million illegal immigrants. I remember that debate, which was supposed to be the end of the problem.
In the meanwhile, millions more have arrived and we the citizens have graciously allowed them to live among us, work among us, receive medical attention, stood up for them against abusive employers, etc.
We do have a right to our sovereign borders, same as the Vatican, and I am glad to see candidates willing to stand up for our borders
Paul Richgels, DeForest