Forum

October 6, 2007

In his most recent contribution Sept. 28 titled "When will anti-immigration bias become politically incorrect," Andrew Greeley reached a new low as a columnist by resorting to name-calling. He referred to people against illegal immigrants as bigots and also likened them to the Ku Klux Klan. He described those federal agents who are enforcing immigration laws enacted by Congress as "storm troopers." His comments are typical of those who use racial slurs when they cannot refute certain facts or actions.

Greeley tried to minimize illegal entry into the United States as being only a misdemeanor. I am sure he has traveled internationally, but if he had done so without a passport or a visa for certain countries, he would have been deported back to the United States The same should apply to people who enter this country illegally.

As a priest, he apparently has forgotten a particular parable that states, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God, the things which are God's." Caesar, in this case, is the immigration laws of the United States. Without laws, we would not be a civilized society, and this is the only thing that separates us from animals.

He posed the question, "When will Mexican immigrants become politically correct," and answered it by saying, "not in this generation." As for illegal immigrants, I hope not in any future generations, whereas legal immigrants always are welcomed.

Something columnists like Greeley and pro-immigrant activists always fail to mention is that after entering this country illegally, these aliens continue to violate other laws. They will drive in Illinois without a driver's license or insurance for their vehicles. If employed, they will use fraudulent Social Security numbers and other identification. They also become a burden to the American taxpayers as far as our schools and medical care.

How much of these expenses are supported by Greeley and the Catholic Church? Not one red cent. In the Waukegan elementary schools, long-term, experienced teachers had to be transferred from their regular classrooms to other in-district schools because the majority of their students now were children of illegal aliens who did not speak English. Who are the victims here?

In 2006, it was reported approximately 50 percent of all babies born to Hispanic women in the United States were out of wedlock. In his column, Greeley mentioned the illegal immigrants are family-oriented. As a sociologist, is this his idea of family values?

When will Greeley, the Catholic Church and these pro-immigration activists quit coddling and patronizing these illegal immigrants? When will they quit blaming the United States for the plight of these illegal aliens and place the blame and responsibility where it truly belongs, on the governments of the countries from which these illegals come?

I would just like to see Greeley in his column or a priest in the pulpit condemn these foreign governments for causing the massive migration to this country by these illegal aliens. This will never happen, as Greeley and the other members of the clergy and these pro-immigration activists are hypocrites. I also have written to the cardinal telling him so.

By the way, I am Catholic and presently employed by an individual of Mexican descent. I have a high-ranking relative in a city government who also is of Mexican descent. Do my comments qualify me as a bigot?

Larry King

Gurnee

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