LETTER Brooks is wrong about immigration
I have read the Observer-Reporter for many years, and have noticed the proclivity lately to be very one-sided with opinion pieces. I guess that’s OK, unless the readership rebels and quits reading the paper or more people write in to comment.
I’m writing to not only complain of bias, but of the disingenuous column by David Brooks that appeared in the Feb. 3 edition. The piece is slanted against any immigration reform. Brooks comments that immigrants commit much less crime than native-born Americans. But he neglects to delineate between illegal and legal immigrants.
A recent study by economist and commentator John Lott found that legal immigrants are less prone to commit crimes, but illegal immigrants not only commit more crime, but more serious crimes. We cannot have a genuine immigration reform discussion until progressives are transparent about their views. Brooks is demonstrating how self-serving and disingenuous he is by interpreting research to serve his own liberal views, much like he interprets climate change.
No one argues that legal immigrants are a benefit to our society. But continuing to ignore the perils of allowing illegals to receive amnesty, and not go through our stringent process, cheapens the value of being a citizen. I hope Brooks can learn to interpret research more objectively and the Observer-Reporter can recognize when their progressive columnists don’t.
Brian Day
Washington