What are illegal immigrants? Perhaps, it was the whites who settled in Texas and California in the 1840s and 50s. I would bet the Mexicans were as upset as today”s alarmists,. Even Native Americans were immigrants at one time. Whether they crossed the Bering Straits or the Atlantic Ocean, they came from some where else. America was made great by giving opportunities to all, and absorbing the energy and drive of the new arrivals. The mixture of cultures and infusion of new ways of thinking created a culture of innovation, and if we keep the pot stirred up, we can perpetuate it.
But creativity and innovation need new ideas and ways of doing things added constantly. We must continue to tap the intellectual capacity of the brightest minds in the world or we will no longer be the leader of the world, economically or militarily. The greatest asset any country has is it”s intellectual capital. Not educating a large percentage is only going to put us further behind the rest of the industrialized world, who educate all to at least the 8th grade, and pay for the advanced education for all the best.
A program similar to the bracero program could be set up to screen applicants for temporary permits, thereby putting the coyotes out of business and allowing us to keep out the criminals and sick. Then we could loosen up on work permits for technical and engineering experts, which our universities are not putting out, and our technical sector needs desperately to remain competitive with other countries.
Painting all immigrants with one brush is not good sense, since Americans are not hungry enough for stoop labor and menial jobs. These workers often produce the hungry entrepreneurs of the future. Give the future Horatio Algers a chance.
Dave Gebhard
Lakeport
