Letter To The Editor

Note: As of the date of this posting on the AmericanPatrol.com site the item below was submitted to but had not been published in the publication to which it was addressed.

To: Letters Editor Statesman Journal

Re: "Hispanics organize against anti-immigrant, legislation"

By PETER PRENGAM February 23, 2003

Dear Editor:

I immigrated to America in 1986 and found this country anything but anti-immigrant. Shortly after arrival, I applied for obtained a driver's incense and a social security number. All I had to present was my passport and a valid U.S. visa. I never experienced any discrimination against immigrants, nor did I found difficult to go about my everyday business while in America. As a non-citizen, I thought it would be inappropriate for me to demand a right to vote or any special favors for my ethnic group. After few years, I applied for and obtained my green card, and - later - my U.S. citizenship. It was my personal experience, as well as an experience of my many immigrant colleagues from around the world that the U.S. immigration process was fair and that America is incomparably more immigrant-friendly than any other civilized country we know of.

Your article "Hispanics organize against anti-immigrant, legislation" by PETER PRENGAM (February 23, 2003, issue of the Statesman Journal) paints a biased image of American immigration. First, it tacitly overlooks the fact that only illegal immigrants have the problems with obtaining a driver,s license. Second, it suggests that not allowing illegal immigrants to apply for a driver's license or to vote is caused by "cultural reasons" and a result of discrimination against "more than 300,000 Hispanics living in the state". Thirdly, by arbitrarily throwing two different categories of people, legal immigrants and illegal immigrants to one class of "immigrants", it creates a false impression that the laws of the U.S. are "anti-immigrant" while all they try to accomplish is to discourage illegal immigration.

If most of the "300,000 Hispanics living in the state" have problems of the above nature then it means that they are in this country illegally. In other words, they and not the U.S. are the root cause of the problem for which they have no one but themselves to blame.

I hope you can print my letter in one of the next issues of the Statesman Journal.

Sincerely,

Dr. M.S.
Yorba Linda, CA

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