Attention, snow birds
This is a response to “Opposition mounts in reaction to Arizona’s immigration law” [News, April 30].
I am fortunate to be married to a beautiful, dark-skinned lady who is a U.S. citizen of European descent. We love going to Sun City Grand, Ariz., each winter for a month or two.
My question for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is this: If my wife runs into a golf cart and the “Gestapo” show up, should she carry her passport or passport card every time she leaves her home? The next thing Arizona would do is give out patches that dark-skinned U.S. citizens would wear when they leave their home. The Star of David unfortunately was used once.
— Tom McArt, Edmonds
Peg employers hiring undocumented immigrants
For all the heated controversy about illegal immigration, the debate should really shift to the real culprit: employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
Congress mandated that all employers must check and verify the Social Security numbers of all new hires. Where is the enforcement? Why would undocumented workers risk crossing our borders if they knew they could not hurdle this employment roadblock?
Corporate America, with free-trade agreements, has successfully shrouded the issue in a fog of deception and through its political power. Yes, we have a nationwide unemployment rate of more than 10 percent and it is easy to get angry and blame all those “illegals” who are taking away a good portion of those fantastic, minimally paid jobs at fast-food joints, picking agriculture, mowing lawns and cleaning hotel rooms.
Higher-paying jobs have fled outside our borders at the great cost of keeping Americans employed manufacturing goods. The cost to hire someone in India, China, etc. is a tenth of the cost to assemble and produce many of the more expensive and technical gadgets we are consumed with these days.
— Timm Stone, Lake Tapps