Asylum is no reason to push open borders

The inability/refusal of Progressives to distinguish between that which is legal and that which is illegal continues to amaze. Fran Alexander states it’s not illegal to seek asylum in our country. She neglects to clarify that there is a legal means to do so. Present yourself and your family at any legal port of entry and apply for asylum and you will not be arrested. Sneak across the border between ports of entry and you are breaking the law. Fran lays out the extreme perils faced by people who journey here — the incredible danger faced by children and women in particular — but then seems to advocate leaving in place the incentives that encourage the trek. This allows human traffickers, sex traffickers and drug cartels to continue victimizing these already desperate people.

The Obama “catch and release” response to this problem has resulted in a massive increase in those bringing children with them to sneak into our nation (an unknown percentage are of no relation to the person they’re with) over the last 5 years. As poorly conceived and implemented as the zero tolerance policy was, we must find a way to dis-incentivize this behavior. And, Fran, properly constructed and manned walls do work. Ask Israel.

As cruel as it may sound to the average bleeding heart, being from a crime-ravaged, poverty-stricken area does not qualify one for asylum in the United States. The criteria for receiving asylum are well and succinctly defined and easy to look up. We are currently a nation of about 326 million people. Of the 7.4 billion people on the planet, 10 percent, or around 740 million, live in extreme poverty. A significant percentage of those also live in war-torn, violent conditions. How many should we bring to America?

Regarding the citizen question on the U.S. Census (Bonnie Miller letter, July 24), it was included on the questionnaire in 1950 and before. I’d like a reasonable explanation as to why “sanctuary” states like California should receive more representation in the U.S. Congress based on the number of illegals in their state. How does it make sense to allow large populations of non-citizens to have a major impact on how our nation is run and its taxpayer-funded resources divvied up? I don’t believe it does.

Lastly, regarding the July 24 letter of Bruce Haggard, a great and kind man by anyone’s standards, I believe my old professor’s scale of measure needs to be recalibrated. I’m hoping Dr. Haggard doesn’t really believe a majority (or even a significant percentage) of the roughly 63 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 are hate-filled racists, radical cultists and/ or science deniers. As such, I believe Dr. Haggard is mistakenly equating a fringe minority on the political right with the vast majority of those on the political left who seem to see identity politics as the most crucial part of their personal political ethos. At the very least it is THE go-to political strategy of cynical Progressive politicians over the last 50 years or more. STEVE BLEVINS Fayetteville