The ultimate cost of illegal immigration

Published: August 24, 2007
http://www.keizertimes.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=8466

To the Editor:
Thanks to Oregon's governor it has happened again.

It was late in the summer of 2002 when two Catholic Sisters were raped and one, Sister Helen Chaska, was murdered. Those deeds were accomplished by an illegal alien. Who, you might ask, is keeping score. I, among others, am. With a recent Portland rape and murder of 15 year old Dani Countryman and the alleged confession by the Gamboa cousins, illegal aliens, it appears to have happened again.

There are many good people that are here illegally but unfortunately there are too many bad ones. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Offender Statistics for 2001 and before, a case can be made that among those here illegally, crimes are four to five times more common than for the general population.

In terms of crimes committed, these cases are just the tip of the iceberg. Almost any day one can look at those locked up and see that far too many did not enter our nation legally. Many have committed countless minor crimes but state law prohibits the police from having them deported. Failure to help the federal government enforce immigration laws, being a sanctuary state, and policies of giving driver's licenses and countless other benefits to anyone that asks has made us a magnet state and I want it to stop immediately.

Roy Duncan
Keizer