OPINION:
Appropriately located border walls will significantly decrease both the number of illegal immigrants entering our country through Mexico and the high cost these immigrants place on our taxpayers. Walls will also reduce the attacks on border agents and our citizens living near the border, and will limit the entry into our country of criminals, terrorists and narcotics and sex trafficking.
Comprehensive immigration reform must also include E-Verify, adequate numbers of agents and adequate amounts of surveillance equipment, legal immigrants with the appropriate skills and worker permits to meet our needs, and deportation for illegal criminals and those who overstay their visas.
Legal status, not amnesty, should be the standard on an individual basis for long-term-law-abiding illegal immigrants. Past compromises on amnesty legislation have never resolved the problem. Refugee standards should be set by our government, not by the United Nations. Border security, including walls and staffing, should be in place before decisions are made on all other related matters. Finally, new laws must mandate that all parts of the legislation be enforced.
MARVIN L. HOOVIS
Centerville, Mass.
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