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Opinion

Letters to the Editor

America can do better

To the editor:

King Bill HR4437 is a step in the wrong direction, but we started heading in the wrong direction after 1986 with The Immigration Reform and Control Act. This bill has come about because of the lack of leadership from those who seek national security and those who want to assimilate these 12 million new Americans. How about acting like Americans and getting the job done for once? Amnesty was given once and should be given again.

Why are the unions fighting against a guest worker program? Do you ever wonder why federal law hasn't been followed after 9/11? It is because money is being made. I see the Republican ploy to use the issue as a way to move their base. I know because I am Republican, and half the party is against the other half. 

To those concerned with national security, you're good Americans. Let's close the borders. We can't take out drug trafficking, child sex trade and illegal immigration all in one swoop. This bill, however, does not help these problem areas. 

To those on the other side: get out! You thugs, school skippers and emotionally charged sons and daughters of those who are illegal, stop throwing up gang signs and waving Mexican flags; you are Americans now. 

From the 1890s to the Roaring 20s, 22 million Europeans have passed through Ellis Island in New York alone. Today, a century later, America has the opportunity to show it can do an even better job of realizing its own ideals and the "American dream."

Artemio Muniz
political science senior

Support the movement

To the editor:

I'm an illegal alien. I pay taxes on every purchase. I pay property, local, state and federal taxes. I get Social Security withholdings deducted from my paycheck, but I will never receive any of the benefits. I'm not eligible for any federal government assistance. I work as hard as anyone else to support my family. I've lived here almost my whole life, and I consider the United States my home. 

I applied to become a legal resident 11 years ago and still haven't received anything. I can't understand why people misunderstand my contribution to this country as if I'm taking something from them. My heart breaks every time I know that people are ignorant and think I'm living off them or for free. I want to be legal and so do all immigrants. Please support a comprehensive and humane solution for all those illegal immigrants in this country. They are not only Mexican but are Central American, South American, Asian, Middle Eastern, African and European as well.

Martin Luther King once said "An injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere." It is unjust that my (and others') contribution is taken for granted. I want to know if the taxes I pay are illegal, too. I ask every minority member, immigrant and everyone else, including Melissa Correa ("Immigrants need law, not our back," Opinion, Monday) to support the immigration movement. Thank you in advance.

Viridiana Hernandez
accounting junior

Why do they have to be white?

To the editor:

Reid Midgett wrote (Equality considered an outdated term," Opinion, Tuesday), "Americans are experiencing reverse discrimination. Skilled and intelligent people are losing education and job opportunities because they do not possess the new qualification of an ethnicity different from that of white." It sounds like the passage is referring to white people as the Americans and all other races or ethnicities as non-Americans. 

The "reverse discrimination" reminds me of the history teacher from Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak." Pity us poor white Americans because all the non-Americans are taking our positions in life. Many white people see themselves as the real Americans. Everyone else should just go home or go finish scrubbing the toilets.

Bayan Al-Absy
communication junior

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.