A couple letters

Congresswoman Pelosi,

I just saw a news broadcast in which you made the following comment, "...the American people are very wise on this, and their wisdom will be reflected in the actions of Congress."

I believe you were referring to the fact that over 60% of the American people feel we were wrong to take military action in Iraq, and that 63% of us want a timetable for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

I find it amazing that you support the views of only 60% of the American people on this issue, yet an overwhelming 80% of the American people do not want amnesty for illegal aliens and the same number want our current immigration laws enforced and our border secured. Yet apparently the American people are not wise enough on this particular issue for you to pay attention to what we want.

Senator Obama,

Recently you made some comments regarding the point system provision in S 1348. You stated that it "constitutes at minimum a radical experiment in social engineering and a departure from our tradition of having family and employers invite immigrants to come."

Sir, I do not know if you are deliberately trying to mislead the people of this country concerning the history of immigration, or if you are just unaware of the facts on the issue. Whatever the case may be, it was an asinine statement to make from someone running for the office of President of the United States.

If you look back through every piece of legislation enacted regarding immigration to the United States, you will find that, prior to 1965, they all tried to establish quotas or even exclude certain nationalities or groups of people from immigrating to this country.

The very first immigration law passed in this country was the United States Naturalization Law of March 26, 1790 (1 Stat. 103). This law limited naturalization to aliens who were "free white persons", which left out indentured servants, slaves, and free African-Americans. It also limited naturalization to persons of good moral character.

In 1795 the Naturalization Act of 1790 was repealed and replaced by the Naturalization Act of January 19, 1795 (1 Stat. 414). Some of the changes this Act made were that the period of residence was increased from two to five years in the country and two years in the state of residence. The other major change was that, as well as taking an oath to support the Constitution, the immigrant had to renounce his former sovereign. This Act also reaffirmed that citizenship was for "whites" only.

On July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It was part of the Reconstruction Amendments passed after the Civil War. It's goal was to provide citizenship for the children of freed slaves, thereby giving them the same rights as previously held by whites only.

On May 19, 1921, Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act (ch. 8, 42 Stat. 5), otherwise known as the Johnson Quota Act. This limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of persons from that country who were already residing within the United States according to the 1910 census.

The Immigration Act of 1924 was next to be passed. Its goal was to limit the number of immigrants coming from southern and eastern Europe. It also excluded East Asians and Asian Indians from immigrating entirely.

In 1952 Congress passed the McCarran-Walter Act, otherwise known as the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. It codified, under title 8 of the U.S. Code, all immigration laws. It set all requirements for citizenship and penalties for illegal immigration and the hiring of illegal immigrants. Eventually, the INA established a preference system which selected which ethnic groups were desirable immigrants and placed great importance on labor qualifications.

As you can see, all these immigration laws were, as you state, "...a radical experiment in social engineering..." Our immigration laws were written to ensure that the American people were always to be a majority of the populace. The goal was to ensure that no immigrant group ever obtained majority status and disrupt the social fabric of our culture.

Ever since, your esteemed colleague, Senator Kennedy assisted in opening the Pandora's box of immigration without quotas the American people have suffered due to the effects of illegal aliens. Now we are asked to forgive and forget one more time.

I am sorry sir, but the American people, not the citizens of Mexico or racist groups such as the National Council of La Raza, are the people whom you serve. We declare with an overwhelming voice that we do not want an amnesty and we want our current laws enforced.