Immigration's elusive fix

On the contrary, net illegal migration to the United States fell to zero in 2008 and since then has been negative. As a result, undocumented populations around the country have peaked and are slowly declining. Nationally, the number of illegal residents fell from around 12 million in 2008 to about 11 million in 2009, and in Arizona the population of illegal residents dropped by 100,000 people. Moreover, studies show that immigrant neighborhoods are safer than native neighborhoods, on average, and immigrants, particularly illegal migrants, are less likely to commit crimes than natives. Given these facts, laws such as those passed in Arizona are overkill at the least and certainly racist in their effect if not their intent.

Douglas S. Massey, Princeton, N.J.

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The headline on the May 27 editorial "Fixing immigration, again" nailed the issue with conservatives, but it was never reiterated in the discussion of the pending legislation.

We've already tried "comprehensive" reform with bad results. As previously, we are being promised a fix to the root problem: our unprotected border.

Also, as previously, Americans are being told the fix will be bundled with what equates to amnesty for those already here illegally.

One can appeal to Americans' goodwill to make some case for coupling measures punishing those lawbreakers already here with some chance for them to gain legal presence. However, there is no rational coupling of those issues with fixing our unprotected border. We know from experience that funding to close the border will be diverted; legal challenges will block the "crackdown"; and politicians looking for new, grateful voters will rush to implement the amnesty provisions.

"Immigration reform" should be shelved, and the funding of border fixes added as "bait" in the bill drafted by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) should be passed as a separate measure.

William Mills, Sterling