Letter: Hurray for Arizona

Congratulations to Arizona for finally having the guts to take action against the illegal immigration problem in this country, or at least, in Arizona. Illegal immigration in Arizona alone has cost that state and its people millions of American taxpayer dollars each year to rescue, treat, arrest, transport and return illegals back to Mexico. The police, fire and emergency services, including the hospitals in Arizona’s border towns, are all overworked and overwhelmed by the hordes of illegals attempting to enter every day. Arizona cannot fund these overwhelming costs. They should not have to.

With the large influx of illegals comes increased crime and violence, damage and theft to property and the safety and security of the communities in danger. Arizona’s citizens are stuck paying the bills. The burden of illegal immigrants in Arizona, as in America, is too much. Here in San Mateo County, $20 million per year is spent on indigent care for illegal immigrants who have no heath care insurance. The mayor of San Francisco and the protesting students at Berkeley should keep their mouths shut and find out the facts of what Arizona is going through before they "insert foot in mouth.” They should not protest against something if they do not know all the facts or the whole story. Mayor Newsom, are you listening? Jagjit Singh’s letter states that the Latino Community is galvanizing itself throughout the nation and becoming a potent political force, because of the new Arizona immigration laws ("Arizona’s new law” in the May 18 issue of the Daily Journal). Wow. Just think, if all the Latinos  got politically organized in their own country (ie: Mexico), and force changes in their own government in their own country, we, in America, would not have an illegal immigration problem.

Michael Oberg

San Mateo