Immigration Laws Should Be Enforced

November 15, 2011

The recent Pauley lecture introduced the audience to two professors from Wake Forest. While Dr. Coates and Dr. Siavelis were interesting and were basically promoting the benefits of immigration, be it legal or illegal, the professors seem to think breaking our immigration laws by those south of the border isn’t so bad because we receive mainly benefits from this unskilled, uneducated, cheap labor force. Yes, the agricultural community does benefit, and that is the good news.

However, our economy and culture suffer when we have 10 million illegal immigrants to contend with. Twenty-three percent of prisons are full of illegals. Our hospital emergency rooms are overburdened with undocumented families. Our schools are overcrowded. There’s the cost of free lunches, and some schools are also providing breakfast, too. Add, also, the cost of food stamps.

By contrast, immigrants from most other parts of the world come with skills and education and enhance our way of life.

It used to be that when students were on summer break they could find work in construction, painting houses, cutting lawns and roofing. Most of that work today is cornered by illegal immigrants; thus, our students go into debt to help pay for college.

It is way past the time to enforce our immigration laws now on the books.

Frank B. Hayes

West End

http://www.thepilot.com/news/2011/nov/1 ... -enforced/