To the Editor:
Re “A Sense of Who We Are” (editorial, Jan. 13):
Illegal status is not a circumstance that just materialized for illegal immigrants; they made conscious decisions to come here illegally or to violate their visa terms.
Our nation has generous legal immigration policies. Those who find themselves on the wrong side of the law have chosen to disregard it and enter our country the wrong way.
The editorial does not mention that families do not need to be separated by deportation; deportees can take their children with them when they depart. And because deportation proceedings are not criminal in nature, aliens do not have the fundamental right to a lawyer as criminal defendants do.
The Times, in its many criticisms of the Bush administration, purports to care about lawful conduct. When it comes to illegal immigrants, apparently the law goes out the window.
Ted Poe
Washington, Jan. 15, 2009
The writer is a Republican congressman from Texas.
Note from KBJ: To progressives, the law is merely an obstacle to be overcome, evaded, or ignored. The end justifies the means.
