Inger Eberhart/Letter to the Editor: Amused by amnesty advocate’s race-baiting Current rating:5 by 2 users.
Published: 11/13/2008

In his letter Mr. Pellegrino of the Cobb Immigrant Alliance accused Cobb County residents (and voters in other Southern states) of voting along racial lines and said that the margins of victory by candidates were “not landslides” but “race-slides.”

I am amused by his ignorance, puzzled by his race-baiting, and offended by his lack of recognition of people – of all backgrounds – as individuals. Please understand that just because someone looks like me does not mean that person shares my values. I am an African-American and, as a conservative, aware voter, I did not vote for Barack Obama.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stated that it is more important to assess others not by the color of their skin but the content of their character. I must hope that Mr. Pellegrino tries much harder to understand that concept.

Mr. Pellegrino alluded to the amnesty approach to solving the illegal immigration problem.

In 1986, “one-time amnesty” was attempted to solve our illegal immigration crisis forever. At the time, illegal immigrants totaled 2.7 million. As of 2008, there are more than 20 million illegal immigrants in our nation! Clearly, amnesty, as Mr. Pellegrino proposes, does not stop “undocumented neighbors” from coming to America illegally.

In 1995, Bill Clinton appointed African-American former U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-Texas) as the Chair of the Commission on Immigration Reform. She was very clear on what it would take to gain credibility on immigration policy: “Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out, are kept out; and those who should not be here will be required to leave…”

Mr. Pellegrino must recognize that our “undocumented neighbors” must be required to leave.

By the way, there is already a “path to permanent residency” which has been taken by law-abiding immigrants of all descriptions, from all over the world. Last year we made more than one million immigrants citizens of our great and diverse nation.

For the Pellegrinos of the world, it seems that the only answer is totally open borders.

Inger Eberhart

Acworth

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