Illegal immigrants deserve prosecution
September 9, 2008

I could only shake my head in wonder as I read your front-page article comparing the enforcement actions against illegal aliens in Postville with those enforcement actions taken in Laurel, Miss. ("Critics Tie Scant New Charges to Wariness after Iowa Raid," Aug. 2.

Prominently displayed was the quote from a critic saying, "Postville was a huge embarrassment because of the criminalization of workers." This critic would apparently have us believe that the illegal aliens working in Postville were simply innocent workers until they were victimized by being picked up by immigration officers.

The reality is far different. All of the workers entered the United States knowing that they had no legal right to be here. They then obtained false documents and/or filled out false paperwork, usually involving identity theft, to obtain a job they knew they had no legal right to have. Then they engaged in income-tax fraud by either getting paid in cash and/or submitting false tax forms.

In spite of this reality, there are those who seek to exempt these illegal aliens from the true consequences of their crimes. Can anyone explain to me why illegal aliens should be treated differently from the American citizens who are arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for committing these same crimes?

- Stephen M. Kirby, Indianola
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