Regarding your editorial "We Believe You, Mr. President" (June 16): In response to an inquiry of a young Dream Act supporter in March 2011, President Barack Obama said he didn't have the power to stop the deportation of dreamers. "There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply, through executive order, ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as President," he said.
Now, through executive fiat, Mr. Obama has granted legal status to an estimated 800,000 young people, who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children.
However, as the president and amnesty supporters all know, it isn't just about the kids. In fact, the kids are being used as a conduit to provide legal cover for all of their family members. So, in essence, the president's act is really a back-door amnesty in which legal status is being conferred upon countless millions of those here illegally.
In the midst of an election year, the president's action is just one more example of a desperate politician pandering for additional votes.
Jim Redhead
San Diego
I agree with your sympathy for the plight of young people who are in the U.S. illegally through no fault of their own. However, many Americans might be more supportive of relaxed policies toward these young, illegal immigrants if the immigrants did not also benefit from diversity and inclusion policies (aka affirmative action).
There's nothing level or fair about a playing field that favors players whose parents entered them into the game illegally. Those of us, immigrant and nonimmigrant, who played by the rules are having a hard enough time finding jobs and educating our children without an additional slap in the face.
Sue D. Arnold
Arlington, Va.
