USA TODAY Letter to the Editor

Federal government shirks duty on immigration laws

USA TODAY reader Liz Barnert, a pediatrician, makes the observation that Arizona's threat to enforce immigration laws is driving some Latinos, including presumably some illegal aliens, from that state to California, with consequences for their children's health ("Arizona law affects issues of health," Letters, Thursday).

READ OPINION: Arizona law affects issues of health

The letter unwittingly makes a very good argument, from the trenches, that illegal immigration enforcement must be done by the federal government. In abdicating its responsibility, the government has forced desperate states to attempt to fend for themselves. Likely, some illegal immigrant families are now California's problem and not Arizona's.

Effective enforcement of our immigration laws might force these families to return to their country of origin, their true home, where they would be free to apply for legal immigration to the USA. In addition, the good doctor is free to volunteer her services in other countries, such as Mexico, to help the indigents who might benefit from her services.

John Kaza; Salinas, Calif.
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