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To the editor:
When I look back on the number of times the political right has been dead wrong, it makes me wonder how it remains a viable ideology. In somewhat chronological order, the right has been wrong about Joseph McCarthy’s “red scare,” school segregation, civil and voting rights, Vietnam, gender equality, supply-side economics, free trade, right-to-work laws, gun safety, climate change, Covid-19 and more.
They are wrong again with regard to immigration. It’s no secret that the U.S. is an aging country with a low native birth rate or that this is endangering Social Security and Medicare. It’s also no secret that businesses that rely upon entry-level workers are experiencing severe difficulty finding personnel. Immigrants solve both problems.
However, there is an even more important reason to welcome immigrants. It is the same reason my ancestors and likely those of everyone reading this letter chose to come to America — because it is a nation of hope. Over my lifetime, no other country represented this better than the U.S.
If America is to remain a great country, it must embody great ideals — freedom, fairness, equality, decency and acceptance. If we build walls, deport those who long to be citizens and place unreasonable legal barriers in the way of migration, America will spiral downward and no one will want to come here.
Joseph Cannisi
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