Letters — Immigration Rules, Statue of Liberty, Racism, Plan B Pill, Abortion

No way to run a countryRe: "New rule limits legal immigration — Critics say it favors Europeans, the wealthy when granting access," Tuesday news story.We might as well hang a curtain over Lady Liberty and her inscription, "give me your tired, your poor..." We are a nation of immigrants, the majority of whom arrived with little money and scant language skills, if any. No health insurance. These people and their children became scientists, surgeons, teachers and politicians and built a great country. Legal immigration from the south is already effectively blocked. ICE resources are wasted on people just going to work rather than on crime. To now frighten those who are here legally and deny them food and health care for a green card just adds to the cruelty. To deny health care puts the population at risk as well. Many of us don't meet the new financial threshold. I doubt President Donald Trump's mom and two immigrant wives met his stated criteria (but they were white). The only rich people I know of who want to come are the Chinese who are already buying their way in. We have a Senate that's AWOL and enabling Trump. This is no way to run a country. It's appalling.Carol Stephenson, MesquiteA subsidy to employersThis new rule hardly limits immigration. Besides, illegal immigrants and their apologists constantly maintain that illegal immigrants cannot get welfare state benefits. But this article illustrates how it happens. The illegal immigrant has a baby and claims birthright citizenship, then the parent applies for benefits. In the case of food stamps, they are then given an allocation for all members of the household. The essential problem is that these illegal immigrants take jobs that do not pay enough to live in this country without benefits from the welfare state. Basically that represents a subsidy to their employers. We should not have to pay because those employers will not pay a living wage with a benefits package that keeps their workers off of welfare benefits.Thanks to the global economy, we have plenty of poor people. We do not need to import more. New rule: You can have as many foreign workers as you want as long as you vouch for them and take responsibility for whatever they cost the welfare state, including bilingual education.Greg Stephenson, LancasterGive us your wealthyQuick, scrap those words of Emma Lazarus and replace them with this: Give us your wealthy, highly educated and of course, white, yearning to bring their money with them. Thanks a billion. So sad.Peggy Tucker, RichardsonWealthy and whiteRe: "It's about illegality," by Mimi Hathaway, Sunday Letters.After Monday's news regarding the administration's proposed new rule that would sharply limit legal immigration, I guess Hathaway will have to change her "let's get this straight once and for all" stance. President Donald Trump, and presumably his "millions of patriotic, intelligent" followers, are not against all immigration — just "illegal" immigration and legal immigration by anyone who is not wealthy and preferably white.Karen Rosenthal, IrvingStand tall against racismNews outlets have been reporting that the president's agenda is threefold — racism, immigration and guns. I disagree and say for him, racism is primary.The focus of his immigration policy has been countries of people of color; he has expressed no barring of Anglo-Saxon peoples from immigrating to the U.S. His disdain is purely along color lines.His hate rhetoric has also been toward immigrants of color, and his base has taken his words to heart with guns in their hands.It's not about what we've done. It's about what we haven't done. Our living Constitution and our democratic way of life are at stake. It's up to each and every one of us to stand tall against where he's trying to take our country.Adrienne Carter, LewisvilleI came to U.S. legallyI'm a naturalized citizen. I came to the U.S. through a legal border crossing, and I have no patience for those who simply believe they can cross the border anywhere they please. It took time to do it legally. For those politicians who want to have open borders, I say this. You wouldn't allow someone you didn't know to enter your home, so don't expect us to let undocumented individuals enter "our" country. Borders, local and national, are there for a reason, and one is security.Gary A. Edwards, Holly Lake RanchIsn't it ironic?Re: "Councilman balks at funding center — Official objects to Plan B pill as rape crisis option," Tuesday Metro & Business story.Isn't it ironic that Texas has a "stand your ground law" to defend against intruders — making it OK to shoot to kill — but Collin County rape victims may not be allowed to choose to use "Plan B" for prevention of pregnancy if Plano funds the Rape Crisis Center in Collin County?Sue Malnory, ShermanTime to look in the mirror"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." So reads the plaque on the Statue of Liberty. America once again mourns innocent lives lost forever from this earth, this America, this land of the free. The perpetrator is not one man, one group, but all of us Anglo-Saxon white privileged Americans who have allowed this cancer of hate to fester into a deathly disease across our land. What in the world is wrong with us? Every faith espouses the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," which boils down to honor and respect for one another because under our skin color, we are all the same. It's time to look in the mirror and point our finger there: Am I doing enough to love my neighbor?Ann Shaw South, RichardsonNext step: fair reportingRe: "Drop the hammer and pick up a flashlight — To regain trust of Trump voters, media must cover abortion with impartiality," by Peggy Wehmeyer, Aug. 4 Points.Bravo to Peggy Wehmeyer for writing and The Dallas Morning News for printing her op-ed piece urging fair and balanced media coverage on the abortion issue. The obvious next steps are news reports that reflect fair and balanced reporting.Ray Scholl, Richardson  Continue reading...