Letters: Debunking myths about immigrants; Listen to Trump before voting for him
Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the Nov. 5 election and will accept letters that are received by Oct. 25. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.
Debunking myths about immigrants
It’s time to debunk five harmful and demonizing myths about immigrants (both documented and undocumented), so we can rebuild an immigration system that’s functional and humane.
Myth I: Don’t pay taxes, use public benefits and harm the economy
Undocumented workers contribute billions in taxes through sales, property and income taxes. The Social Security Administration estimates they contribute $100 billion annually, increasing SSA finances since they are ineligible for most public benefits, including welfare, food stamps (SNAP), and Medicaid.
Myth II: Take jobs from U.S. citizens
Undocumented workers often take low-paying, labor-intensive jobs that U.S. citizens refuse to take. Up to 50% of our agriculture, construction, and hospitality labor force comprises immigrants who complement rather than compete with U.S. workers.
Myth III: Cross the border illegally
Many workers come to the U.S. legally on work, student, or tourist visas and become undocumented because they overstay their visas. According to recent estimates, visa overstays comprised almost a million people in 2022 alone.
Myth IV: Increase crime rates
Numerous studies show that immigrants, documented and undocumented, commit violent and drug crimes at less than half the rate, and property crimes at 1/4 the rate of native-born U.S. citizens.
Myth V: Legal residency or citizenship is easy to attain
The process for undocumented immigrants to become legal residents is extremely complex and often unattainable. Currently, the caseload averages 5,000 per judge so waiting for legal status can take more than a decade.
Honesty is our North Star. Seek truth before casting your ballot!
Listen to Trump before voting for him
I am grateful that we still live in a country where we can vote for the candidate we believe is the best choice.
I hope my fellow Americans who plan to vote for former President Trump listen to what he has been saying lately, before casting their vote for him.
It seems he wants us to be afraid and distrust others rather than come together as Americans. He talks of deporting immigrants. How easily we forget that unless we are Native American, our own families immigrated here, many of them were hated. Trump suggests immigrants have “bad genes” which speaks to our fears and smaller selves, rather than our best selves. Trump does not consider how his words and actions may hurt others as he is only concerned with himself.
Trump refused a “60 Minutes” interview saying he did not want to be fact checked.
He is willing to say anything and even to lie to people who have been flooded, creating more fear, confusion and distrust.
Republican Governors asked Trump and his supporters to please stop spreading untrue rumors. His anger toward his “political enemies” is also concerning, suggesting imprisoning Democrats who oppose him is simply un-American.
Americans have always enjoyed the peacefully transition of power until he refused to accept defeat in 2020, and I fear he will refuse to lose again.
I implore voters to listen deeply and thoughtfully to what Trump has been saying and ask themselves if they truly believe he will make America greater.
Correct mistakes of last election
The livelihood and safety of all Americans has drastically declined over the last four years, and the reason is clear. We elected a President and VP with very questionable capabilities.
Their inability to lead and make sound leadership decisions surfaced very quickly with their botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Our borders were explicitly opened to 10-plus million unvetted illegal immigrants, including terrorists, savage gangs and hardened criminals. Over 404,000 inadmissible immigrants were secretly flown to 50 U.S. airports as part of an illegal parole program. Another 1.6 million are in the DHS queue.
Harris proudly proclaims ”Bidenomics” is working, despite runaway inflation and record-high credit card debt just to cover our most basic needs. Prices at the pump and household doubled as they took us from energy independence to energy dependent.
We have gone from no new wars and stability in the Middle East to wars in Ukraine and Israel and very aggressive behaviors from our adversaries. China even flew a spy balloon over U.S. military bases unchallenged by the White House.
Biden campaigned from his basement, rarely leaving for interviews and rallies. Fast forward to VP Harris today, and what do you see? Nonsensical “word salads” are common, at home and abroad. With only brief liberal-friendly press interviews, pre-scripted exposure, and a platform without substance or belief, she is still in the game. Déjà vu anyone?
Are we about to make another life-changing poor decision at the polls ... for all Americans?
Thompson’s not ‘standing up for science’
Who is Republican Congressman Glenn Thompson trying to kid? In a recent campaign mailing Thompson says he’s “Standing up for Science.” That’s ridiculous.
For more than 120 years, scientists have known that burning fossil fuels, and adding the resulting CO2 to the atmosphere, would lead to warming. The Swedish scientist who first discovered this went on to win a Nobel Prize.
Since then, scientists have predicted that this warming would lead to melting glaciers, sea-level rise, dangerous heatwaves, crop-killing droughts, stronger storms, and overall increased global temperatures. Each of these predictions has come true just as science predicted, and will only continue to get worse until we drastically reduce burning all forms of fossil fuels.
Yet Thompson, rather than standing up for science, denies the scientific reason for the catastrophic problems associated with climate change. Sadly, he apparently doesn’t even have the curiosity to learn about it, instead spewing the standard Republican climate denial lies.
As a result, Thompson’s science denial is costing each and every American money by way of increased food, insurance, and health care costs — whether we are directly affected by these weather events or not!
Thompson standing up for science? Hardly. Instead, he’s comatose on the biggest scientific issue of our time and seems proud of it.
President Biden recently said “Nobody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore ... They must be brain dead if they do.” Biden surely was talking about all the Republicans in Congress including, most certainly, Glenn Thompson.
Free press
The Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It also prohibits “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”
It’s safe to say that a significant part of the core supporters that Trump caters to are Christian Nationalists. How does the aim of a Christian-only United States square with the Bill of Rights? What does the Christian Nationalist aims mean to believers in other religions or in no religion? Can Trump be trusted to uphold the Constitution?
Freedom of speech remains a strong principle in the U.S., to the extent that lies are freely promulgated, including made-up stories about Haitians, immigrants in general, and anyone who opposes Trump. Only when the lies are libelous can they be punished via a court of law. One example is Trump’s conviction for defaming a woman he was found liable of sexually abusing.
Except for laws relating to wartime, the rights of a free press in the U.S. have not been abridged. However, Trump’s continual rants falsely excoriating the news media, his claims of “fake news,” Fox News, of course, excluded, have unfairly, and maybe irreparably, damaged trust in our free press. Would a President who will be a dictator for one day, who has stated a willingness to suspend parts of the Constitution, dispense with a free press? Can Trump be trusted?
Please vote for a continuing Constitutional democracy, not for Trump.
Supporting Ukraine
Because I am Ukrainian-American I am voting for Kamala Harris in November. I’m from Chicago originally, and I know dozens of others (many of whom almost always vote Republican) who are doing so as well. Harris and Walz will strengthen NATO; they are not good friends with Putin. Our allies will be protected. If Trump gets elected, Putin could be sitting in Kiev within a year. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania: they will be threatened, even invaded.
I never thought that an American president would kowtow to a Russian authoritarian leader. Yes, Reagan negotiated with Gorbachev, but he did so in support of democracy.
My grandparents lost everything when the Soviets took over. They could never return to their homes. This could happen to millions of Ukrainians if Trump gets elected.
Many good people are putting the good of America, and the good of the world, above party affiliations. Let us support the good people in what my father always called “the old country.” I want to go there, back to visit the ancestral village. I want everyone there to be free and safe. President Harris can help make that happen.
Slava Ukraini!
Trump can’t be trusted
Is it true that in kindergarten Donald Trump peed his pants and tried to blame someone else? Well, according to JD Vance it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not if someone thinks it sheds light on a problem. Then, it’s OK to “create stories.”
Well, there certainly is a problem: Donald Trump cannot be trusted. And stories don’t need to be “created” about that.
Brian Kemp, Republican Governor of Georgia, flatly refuted Trump’s claim of voter fraud. Trump continued, and still continues, spouting his Big Lie about the 2020 election being stolen. Trump’s Big Lie incited an attack on our Capitol, an attack he variously called a “love fest” and an “insurrection” caused by Nancy Pelosi.
Trump continued to spread falsehoods about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, even after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, both Republicans, said Trump’s statements were false. DeWine called Trump’s lies “a piece of garbage that was simply not true.” Trump continued to lie about crime in Aurora, Colorado, even after Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, also a Republican, said Trump’s claims were false.
I cannot think of any reasons for Trump’s perpetual lying other than that he’ll do anything to gain power. His thirst for control is frightening.
What is completely incomprehensible to me is why people continue to support Trump despite his obvious lies. Can anyone, whether they believe his lies or not, trust him?
Do any of us really want a person who is totally untrustworthy to lead our country?