Rough terrain for illegal immigrants
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RHODE ISLAND Governor Donald Carcieri's wish to deny workers' compensation benefits to undocumented workers injured on the job is a misguided and potentially dangerous approach that could endanger all workers, documented and undocumented alike ("Illegal workers targeted in R.I.," Page A1, Feb. 12).

more stories like thisMedical care and benefits paid to injured workers are not handouts, as Carcieri seems to suggest, but are an inherent part of the contract between employer and employee. Further, perverse incentives would result from disqualifying undocumented workers from workers' compensation benefits. Employers could hire undocumented workers for the most hazardous jobs, knowing that they would face no insurance costs if the workers were hurt or killed. Denying these workers legal rights would likely lead to poorer conditions for all workers in the jobs and industries that use immigrant labor, as increasingly powerless workers are less likely to voice their safety concerns.

Denying benefits to any workers who sustain injuries in the course of a job is not the answer to a complicated immigration picture that often results in exploitation.

KERRY SOUZA
Boston

LENORE AZAROFF
Lowell

AFTER READING Tuesday's City & Region section, I wanted to cut out Adrian Walker's column "Forgiving a killer" and mail it to Terry Gorman, founder of Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement. Gorman was quoted in that day's front-page story about efforts to crack down on illegal workers in that state.

What a remarkable juxtaposition of attitudes toward one's fellow human beings. Gorman responds to his friend's misfortune (in the form of a $6,600 hospital bill) by pointing fingers and looking to hurt those who happen to be here illegally. Meanwhile, two young women whose mother was murdered respond with forgiveness and empathy, even to her killer.

One of these stories is a sad example of the mean-spiritedness with which we are capable of treating fellow human beings; the other is a model of charity and generosity in spite of tragedy, one that should be an example to us all. I can't resist noting that it is immigrants to this country who displayed the latter qualities.

NINA RAO
Framingham

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