Your Opinions Immigration a backbone of the U.S.

Tenney wrong on U.S. founding

I applaud Representative Tenney for meeting with veterans to discuss her recent trip to the Middle East. Representatives must make time to meet with as many constituents as possible and I’m looking forward to attending a Town Hall with her in the near future.

I am disappointed, however, with Representative Tenney’s lack of knowledge regarding the founding of our nation. After meeting with the vets, Representative Tenney was quoted by a local news station saying;

“I’m a federal representative now,” says Tenney. “The most important thing we can do as federal representatives, since our country was founded on national defense and border security, is to understand what we’re doing in that aspect.”

Unfortunately, Tenney missed the mark by a wide margin. Our Founding Fathers clearly listed the reasons for our independence in paragraph 2 of The Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.– That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.

Members of Congress should also hold these truths to be selfevident.

Alan Cohen, Oneida

This letter is in response to the recent articles covering immigration.

My grandfather, Albert Joseph Bialek came to the United States from Poland (Galicia) in 1910. Per the Ellis Island website, he boarded the ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in Bremen, Germany (formerly Prussia). He had just completed his service in the Austrian Army.

Poland at that time was divided into three spheres of influence by Austria, Prussia and Russia. Upon being discharged he returned to his father’s farm. Officers from the Austrian Army made an attempt to reenlist him but tradition dictated that he could remain at home so long as he was sorely needed on the farm. Immediately after the officers departed, Albert’s father gave him his brother’s travel documents and instructed him to immigrate to the United States. His father knew that war was coming and he didn’t want to lose his son to it.

It took me longer to locate my grandfather on the passenger list because I had forgotten he was traveling under the name Jan and not Albert. Given the fact that Albert entered the United States under the name Jan Bialek and later burned his immigration papers, it is evident he was by definition an “illegal immigrant.” He went on to become a very hard-working brick mason and law-abiding citizen raising 12 children with the help of his Polish wife Mary (nee Mazan) and the rest (as they say) is history.

Just as Cleveland (Ohio) is a city of neighborhoods so is the United States a country of immigrants. In fact all the major cities of America (at one time) served as incubators for immigrants to not only become accustomed to the ways of this country but also to intermingle with each other (often prohibited in their native homeland). It’s a shame that the inner cities were handed over to the absentee landlords following World War II. Just imagine how much stronger and united our country might have been had this unofficial tradition continued.

Gentrification is not the answer. Preventing immigration is not the solution. Intense vetting is acceptable during these challenging times but to unfairly deny one person access to the United States makes us all orphans again. As a popular song goes, “Let me in, immigration man.”

Joe Bialek, Cleveland, Ohio

About letters to the editor

The Oneida Daily Dispatch welcomes letters about local topics or from local people online and in print. Subject to an upper limit of 500 words, letters may be edited for length or taste.

Letters containing things such personal attacks, namecalling, libel, obscenities or obvious falsehoods won’t be printed.

Email letters to LFurman@ OneidaDispatch.com or mail them to: Letters to the Editor The Oneida Daily Dispatch 130 Broad St., Oneida NY 13421

Include your name and city or town, which will be published, and for verification purposes, your daytime phone number, which won’t be published.