Employing a Standard on Immigration Policy

Re “Help Mexico Fix Its Problems -- Instead of Sending Them North,” Commentary, Jan. 21: In his search for an answer to the question of what benefit the U.S. receives from undocumented workers, perhaps Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) should speak to those who employ them, possibly including his friends and family, but more to the point, to the businesses that use cheap labor and offer no benefits. He lays the blame squarely on the undocumented workers, not on those who capitalize on their tenuous status in this country. Try arresting a few of the business owners who subjugate these people, yet don’t require legitimate work permits, and perhaps the situation might change.

Unfortunately, Southern California, especially the unskilled market, would be left in chaos if we were even able to round up all those illegal immigrants and send them back to their country of origin. Perhaps a better use of Gallegly’s time and energy as chair of the House Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights would be to focus on more constructive solutions to this problem. He could begin by supporting President Bush’s and Mexican President Vicente Fox’s efforts to improve the legal status and working conditions of these people. Then he could work to improve the security of our borders, which allows people to enter this country.

As a lifelong Republican who tries to find constructive solutions to problems rather than simply whining about them, I find his argument to be of little value.

Murray Schrantz

Huntington Beach

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Gallegly misses Mexico’s real problem. Mexican wages are too low. Too small a percentage of the return on Mexican commercial activity is returning to the Mexican economy via wages. Thus, the Mexican economy cannot sustain itself. The capital that is withheld from the market as extra entrepreneurial profit cannot be effectively invested in such an anemic economy and therefore is either hoarded or invested in other places.

The North American Free Trade Agreement makes this worse. Mexican wages cannot rise to make the economy more self-sustaining because foreign competitors would displace any Mexican enterprise attempting to compete at a higher wage. As participants in what its proponents call the open market, we shall be joining our neighbors to the south as a nation that has been robbed from the top down.

Jim Woolsey

Sierra Vista, Ariz.

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What a surprise to read such a well-thought-out article.

Gallegly’s nonpartisan arguments made far too much sense to be accepted by most politicians. If we could combine his thoughts with Rep. Dick Gephardt’s (D-Mo.) minimum-wage proposals for our trading partners we just might start solving some problems.

John Lay

Morro Bay