To the editor: Manuel Pastor and Miguel Santana — authors of the Aug. 11 op-ed, “What Kamala Harris Should Remember About California’s Anti-Immigrant Past” — are undoubtedly well-intentioned people. But their framing of the issue creates a number of false equivalencies.
Trying to equate mass deportations of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States with efforts to stem the surge of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border is going too far.
In 1994, I marched against Proposition 187, and I would march against it again tomorrow if it were put to a vote again. However, long-term public support for immigration requires a strong, fair, and pragmatic approach at the border.
Pastor and Santana are concerned about the pro-MAGA vote, but they fail to address the real concerns of moderate, generally pro-immigrant voters who want a rational response at the border. Among these moderates are many Democratic voters, including those who come from immigrant households.
Michael Baker, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I recently spent almost three weeks in the hospital recovering from a heart attack, and many of my nurses and doctors were immigrants or sons and daughters of immigrants.
They were from countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Nigeria, and Mexico. Without exception, they were skilled and caring people, and they helped me recover from near death. One nurse told me that her father owned a landscaping service and made him work with him during the hot summers to motivate him to go to college.
As I looked at their faces, I was saddened to think of the way former President Trump vilifies immigrants and how this must make my new friends feel. His comments demonstrate an utter lack of understanding of what happens every day in America.
Philip Reed, Long Beach
