Migrants stand in line to board a bus at the Border Patrol headquarters in El Paso, Texas, in 2019.
AP file
Immigrants work tirelessly to build this country, performing dangerous and demanding jobs. There’s no clearer indicator than last month’s Baltimore bridge collapse where six fathers, husbands, brothers and uncles died while literally maintaining the infrastructure of our nation. The sacrifices immigrants make for our country each and every day should be celebrated, not criminalized or demonized.
It’s time to cut through the noise and tell the truth about immigration: Our economy and country are stronger because of it. Some leaders would have us think it’s a zero-sum game when our country takes in immigrants, but that’s not true at all.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates immigrants will add $7 trillion in gross domestic product over the next 10 years. Moreover, in 2021 immigrants paid $524.7 billion in taxes. That’s money that fuels our nation’s K-12 schools, Medicaid and Social Security.
Even Donald Trump-appointed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell recently said, “A big part of the story of the labor market coming back into better balance is immigration returning to levels that were more typical of the pre-pandemic era.”
So, let’s give credit where credit is due, stop the anti-immigrant rhetoric and end the zero-sum mindset. Immigration truly is essential for our economic growth and our communities’ prosperity.
Max Burg, Kenwood
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RFK Jr. carries torch of lies
This is in response to Sunday’s letter from Jim Halas, who supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Three members of the Kennedy family wrote an essay in May 2019 informing the world of their opinion regarding RFK Jr. They publicly rebuked him and his dangerous views regarding vaccines years before RFK Jr. even announced he was running for office. Yet, Halas calls their support for President Joe Biden a knee-jerk reaction.
RFK Jr. has publicly stated wi-fi causes cancer and “leaky brain,” antidepressants are to blame for school shootings, chemicals in the water supply could turn children transgender, and AIDS may not be caused by HIV.
The only torch RFK Jr. carries is the torch of lies and disinformation, yet Mr. Halas disparages Jr.’s relatives as only worried about counting their money. Does anyone really need to ask who’s on the right side here?
Brian Collins, Orland Park
Eclipse brought folks together
It was refreshing to participate in the viewing of the April 8 solar eclipse. We all shared this shindig without any politicking. There was no partisan spin applied to this occasion. We gathered together to look up into the sky, not thinking about being Democrats or Republicans. For a brief period, we enjoyed a respite from the madness of our current political environment. It was a timely reminder that we are all citizens of the Earth.
Scott Thompson, Bloomington