View: Nation values immigration, but legal immigration
Many, including immigrants, have fought and died to keep America great and strong
Re "Immigrants make America great," April 15 Community View:
With the knowledge that almost all Americans are the remnants of forbearers who were immigrants, or who themselves are recent immigrants, one can hardly quarrel with lohud Community Editorial Board member Elizabeth Colombini that “immigrants help make America great and strong.”
However, one can easily depart from her apparent conclusion that there is no difference between those immigrants who conformed to America’s legal immigration statute and those who entered America illegally or overstayed their visas.
VIEW: Immigrants make America great
Further, Ms. Colombini’s bizarre statement that “... alleged super-patriotism, which is just hate wrapped in a flag, has divided the American people,” requires a closer examination of American history.
America’s Constitution and Bill of Rights was penned by “super-patriots,” which was the foundation of our nation and brought people together.
Seventy years ago, millions of young Americans were called upon to defend our nation against despots who resorted to the dehumanization of the human spirit.
Nearly 400,000 young American “super-patriots” sacrificed their lives so that Ms. Colombini’s family could experience the liberty and freedom those “super-patriots” were deprived of.
Since that time, thousands more young American “super-patriots” have all they had to give in a continuous saga of reckless and unnecessary wars devised by calculating politicians.
These are same politicians who refuse to honor our current immigration laws and pander to those who ignore our laws and defy our sovereignty.
But what did all those young American “super-patriots” die for, what was really worth dying for? Was it to ridicule America’s sovereignty and defy our laws? Was it to ignore our fundamental constitutional limitations?
Perhaps it was to establish a minimum working wage or to break up the banks and dismantle Wall Street.
Surely, there had to be an obvious reason why anybody would want to die in war. If there is, it surely is not reflected in Ms. Colombini’s missive nor during the current presidential primary elections.
America’s returning dead from war are always “wrapped in a flag.”
Those “super-patriots” are “wrapped” in the flag they loved and fought for.
The object of any immigration statute is not necessarily to benefit the immigrant, but to accommodate and benefit our nation in selecting those most qualified to become “super-patriotic citizens.”
During all of America’s recent wars, many immigrants joined the Armed Forces and served loyally, and as a consequence were rewarded with citizenship.
As with those legal immigrants before them, more recent immigrants contribute enormously to America’s economy.
A failure to distinguish between law-abiding immigrants and illegal aliens is understandable and a reflection of those who deliberately distort the issue in an attempt to influence public opinion.
Become familiar with American patriotism, its founding and why it is worth fighting for.
The writer, a New Rochelle resident, is a veteran of World War II.