I am appalled by the insensitivity toward immigrants expressed in so many recent reader letters to the Tribune. Most Americans are descended from immigrants, and we should, as a nation of immigrants, show more compassion to those who wish to become Americans today.
The argument that our ancestors’ situations differed from that of today’s immigrants is ludicrous.
When my grandmother came to America in 1913, all she had to do was buy a boat ticket.
Immigrants today have to navigate through an endless bureaucracy, full of time delays and government errors.
Many undocumented immigrants entered the U.S. legally, got jobs, paid taxes and applied for permanent residency, only to have their visas expire while they waited to hear back from the government.
I have a suggestion to everyone who wants all illegal U.S. residents to be deported: Go back and do a careful search of your own grandparents’ immigration paperwork. If everything isn’t completely in order, consider whether you would be willing to suddenly give up your comfortable life in the U.S. and move back to their country of origin. Perhaps that might increase your compassion.
