From WORLD's mailbag

 Immigrants, good and otherwise

     "Having worked my teenage years on the family's farm in the 1960s with illegal immigrants, I can attest to their value, hard work, ethics, and decent values. They crossed only for the harvest seasons, returning to Mexico every November, to return every April or May. 

     "They sent 90% of their paychecks back home. My brothers and I worked alongside them for 10-12 hours a day. They paid into Social Security without hope of collecting a dime. They sometimes begged to work for cash as they didn't have funds to buy fake documents. Back then, the INS hunted them down like animals and stole our helpers when we needed them the most. 

     "Now, millions are let in without vetting, and we will pay the price for that for years to come. Yes, we need immigrants, but we need them here legally, vetted, and based upon their ability to assimilate in the American economy. 

     "Canada vets immigrants and requires them to speak English or French and have a skill that can be employed in Canada. These types of requirements were introduced into Congress during Donald Trump's first term but never made it out of committee. Immigrants will save our economy, but drug dealers, gang members, sexual predators and worse must be vetted out. 

     "I pray for sound leadership, but before we reform the system and perhaps even provide a path to citizenship, we must cleanse our cities and land from the mess of illegal, unfettered, and dangerous immigrants who are not here to forward our interests." 

                   Craig Borgardt, Wisconsin