OPINION:
The billions of dollars spent each year to support illegal immigrants is increasing our federal debt — and it is a completely unfair, unjustified use of taxpayer money. We should never have spent one penny of our hard-earned funds on migrants.
When my grandparents legally immigrated to America in 1902, they were given no money, no transportation, no hotel rooms, no food and no medical treatment (least of all for anything as unnecessary as cosmetic surgery). They got no language lessons. My parents and uncles went to school speaking only Italian and had to learn English on the fly and in a hurry.
They were given the wonderful gift of entrance to a great country of opportunity, and in return they became great, patriotic citizens — at no cost to the American taxpayers.
My father and his two brothers joined the U.S. Army during World War I after having been citizens for only 16 years. My uncle was gassed in the trenches of France. In World War II, my 48-year-old father joined the National Guard and volunteered as an air raid warden. I volunteered and spent four years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. We did it all because we were thankful to be American citizens.
I share all this to show how stupid and unnecessary it is to give people entering our country illegally money or services. Legal entrance into America is enough of a gift. When done correctly, immigration can be an asset to our already great country.
JOHN PROCIDA
Flushing, New York
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