They’re citizens, and they vote

Re “Proud citizens sense a creeping threat,” July 26

Like some of the naturalized Americans who feel under attack by the Trump administration, I arrived here as a child and took the oath of citizenship at the age of 13. It is one of the most lasting emotional memories I have, raising my hand and swearing to defend my country.

My parents were also naturalized citizens and were proud to vote in every election, as I do now. This is my country, my home.

I was very much ashamed, sad and then angry to hear the chant “Send her back” at a recent rally for President Trump. You can be sure that I will exercise my vote to change what has happened in my country. Esther Friedberg Studio City

The campaign of hate against people born outside the United States did not originate with our current president. His opportunistic latching onto this issue needs to be seen as what it is: a cynical way to motivate a portion of the electorate to vote their fear and hate.

Trump is just smart enough to recognize an issue that will gain him support, and he has jumped on this beginning with his “birther” attacks on President Obama. While he has a history of using low-paid immigrants at his businesses, the president has joined with that dark segment of our country where people blame all their problems on foreignborn residents.

In this effort he has been joined enthusiastically with most of the GOP, who have used this to make themselves almost invisible in California.

As this country always has been and is becoming more and more a country of immigrants, it is clear that while Trump and his cohorts are riding high now, they are sliding down the wrong end of history. David Gooler Pasadena