Editor’s note: Lots of folks write us about illegal immigration, but our lead letter on the topic this time comes from an American mom living in Costa Rica. Like her, you may send your thoughts to [email protected].—Ken McIntyre

Dear Daily Signal: It appears that an adviser may have intentionally misled President Trump that a separation policy for families at the southern border was humane or an adequate deterrent (“Fact-Checking 4 Claims About Detaining Children at the Border“). I do not believe it’s a policy the president himself would have initiated without such advice.

It is likely that the majority of people desperate to come into the United States illegally were not going to see the news that children were being separated from parents at the border. Only the human traffickers would know, and they could care less what happens to the illegal immigrants as long as they get their “fare.”

As a frequently overwhelmed homeschooling mom who also runs a small business from home, and gratefully gets to chase a speedy toddler in between, you seemed the best folks to reach out to. As disgusted as I feel about illegal immigration being a detriment to taxpayers, and to our overburdened education and medical programs, separating a child from both parents is not an acceptable solution due to the trauma experienced by the child.

If parents sent the child unaccompanied, that is different. But we can’t, as decent humans, intentionally hurt God’s children mentally or physically.

We need planes or buses waiting to load illegal immigrants and immediately return them to their countries without holding centers or trials, both of which waste more taxpayer dollars on fattening the pockets of immigration attorneys in all the crossing states. These funds could be invested in our aging schools, infrastructure, mental health facilities, and drug rehabilitation facilities, and for strengthening the protective equipment of our soldiers.

The reality is that if people cannot afford a plane ticket or a work visa, they are likely to burden the taxpayers while benefiting only the business that illegally hires them. It does not balance out for our economy, since money earned is often sent back to the home country, and family member after family member come to join them.

In Costa Rica, citizens’ work opportunities are wisely protected: If you are a foreigner, even if you are legal resident, you may own a business but you may not employ other foreigners. Additionally, you may not work for others unless you are in Costa Rica on a work visa. There are frequent raids in coastal cities to ensure foreigners are not employed in tourism-centered communities.

I am a former national board-certified teacher in art, earned a master’s degree in educational leadership (eons ago), and passionately loved teaching high school art in California. Many of my students near Anaheim were immigrants, and some were likely not in the U.S. legally.

I did not my have my own children yet, and in truth, felt a deep love for almost every one of my students regardless of where they came from. But there are already too many inner city and rural poverty issues we need to solve for American children without further stressing our educational and medical systems for illegal immigrant families.

Those countries have got to take responsibility to sort their problems out. If we don’t get America sorted out, pugnacious billionaire liberals will have us looking like Venezuela faster than most people imagine it could happen.

Thankfully, we left California 12 years ago for Central America before the state started water rationing. I love the United States, and am repulsed and frightened by the numerous powerful forces striving to destroy what the patriots risked everything for when we were not yet even a country.

In their haughtiness and desire to protect elitism, some would rather betray their own country than see Trump’s pragmatism and simple love for being an American make it great again.—Sunshine Qualls, Costa Rica

Trump on Germany’s Migrant Crisis 

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Robin Simcox’s commentary, “Trump Is More Right Than Wrong About Migrant Crime in Germany”: If the German statistics are anything like Britain’s—where some say the police no longer bother to record less serious crimes—recorded crime is indeed going down. But that does not mean there is less crime.—Cris Baker

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It doesn’t help when the Germans jail those who speak out, and their law enforcement denies things such as the New Year’s Eve sexual assaults.—James Krych

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is getting ready to lose her job solely because of the migrant situation. The people can’t handle it anymore.—Gina Marie

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Nationalism is on the rise.  The European Union is dismal. NATO is being challenged by a devious Russia hellbent on reforming the Soviet Union—Putin’s version anyway.—Stephen Taylor

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Let’s take care of problems in America and let Germany deal with its own.—Barb Wells

About Robin Simcox’s commentary, “Merkel’s Leadership Threatened by Killings by Immigrants, Wrought by Open Borders”: Merkel now says the immigrant question should be decided by Europe, not by Germany. Yet she unilaterally announced that unlimited numbers of immigrants are welcome a few years ago, without getting approval from Europe.

And the left in our country has fought President Trump’s executive orders temporarily disallowing immigrants from seven Middle Eastern countries?

Why? Look what is happening in Europe with their open borders. Thank you, Mr. Trump, for protecting the American people by closing the door to immigrants from these countries.—Marion E. Daniels-Price

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Thank goodness the Brits had the sense to get out of Europe and its self-inflicted immigration mess. Though we still have an immigration problem, at least we’ll have a better chance of controlling it once we take back complete control of our borders.—Beverly Taff, Cardiff, Wales, U.K.

Toward a More Rational Budget

Dear Daily Signal: This is in response to the commentary by Justin Bogie and Romina Boccia, “These 5 Changes Would Fix the Nation’s Budget Woes.” How any politician can seriously consider deficit spending when we’re more than $20 trillion in debt is beyond me.

How any voter can continue to vote for the incumbents when they have the nerve to put forth a budget that continues deficit spending is also beyond me.

I think President Trump expects the rising gross domestic product to ease the funding problem, but the projections don’t seem to confirm that. We must demand The Heritage Foundation’s proposed budget.—Al Wunsch

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Congress has become a fiscal doomsday machine. A full-time Congress causes crony capitalism to run rampant.

Numerous crony capitalist inefficiencies such as the ethanol mandate stagnate our economy while members of Congress receive bribes (campaign donations) to assure such nonsense as the ethanol mandate. Ethanol requires more energy to make and transport than it delivers to our cars, so Americans are made poorer.

The root solution would be to severely restrict the duration of sessions of Congress. The current path means our economy will be smothered by crony capitalist inefficiencies until the enormous debt bubble bursts and plummets the economy into a depression.

The rating agencies, which are supposed to rein in an irresponsible Congress, are asleep. They  continue to give U.S. Treasury bonds an “A” rating as they move further and further into junk bond territory.—Gary Woodburn

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Social Security is not an entitlement. Every employee pays and every employer matches funds. Welfare is an entitlement. The taxpayers pay for it. Get this through your frickin’ heads.—Jeffy Pearson

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What I find disturbing is the woeful waste and abuse of government programs. Thank you for your in-depth reporting, but does anyone really believe this abuse will ever be reined in?

Our government under all presidents has gotten completely out of control. It’s sickening, as we are already a socialist country under the guise of being free. As one of your articles suggested, the power to tax is the power to destroy. Our country will become so far in debt on this trajectory, it will be our ruination.

Term limits for Congress is the only way to get new blood with new ideas implemented, and until this is a reality, we are blowing in the wind. So terribly sad.—Sonja Thompson

Corporate America’s Sexual Orthodoxy 

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding the commentary by Emilie Kao and Alexa Secrest, U.S. corporations have no business involving themselves with issues of society, except perhaps the regulation of such things as dress codes for their employees (“From Tolerance to Celebration: How Corporations Impose Sexual Orthodoxy”).

Because a corporation head, and this includes boards, has a particular opinion about an issue, that does not give them the right to use the corporation to extend that opinion—even if it is determined that a majority of employees support it.

A corporation’s objective is to create something of substance for the general public to consume, not to engage in societal endeavors.—Rockne Hughes

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Once again, we have less than 4 percent of the nation’s population trying to tell us what to think, what to accept, and what to reject.

As a Christian, I do not accept the values of the LGBT movement. However, the way they live their lives is up to them.

Forcing others to change their lives to accommodate them is wrong. Our beliefs are, and should always be, protected by the Constitution.—Tonie Lesia Dalton

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Don’t fool yourself into thinking LGBT activists want freedom for everyone. If you want to be gay, knock yourself out. Don’t expect me to abandon my beliefs in order to keep from hurting your feelings, though. You are not the only ones with rights.—Jennifer Elsrod Crawford,  Richmond, Ind.

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They show no “tolerance” for the baker, the florist, the photographer, the wedding venue, the churches, or anyone who doesn’t see it their way.—Tony Taylor

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Here it goes again, blaming “corporations” for cultural ills. We are the culprits, not the “corporations.”

By endorsing the splintering of our cultural norms that have been with us for so many years, we are hosting their demise. By the end of the decade, our “way of life” will not be recognizable.—James Keeton, Fairfield, Calif.

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One of two things: Either these corporations totally deny that anything is a perversion, or they know but don’t care where a greenback comes from. Either way, it’s pathetic.—Teddye Stephan

https://twitter.com/ShirleyFarmGirl/status/1010958137816477697

Obamacare and the Constitution

Dear Daily Signal: About Paul Larkin’s commentary, “Once Again, Obamacare’s Constitutionality Comes Into Question”: It was never a “tax” in the first place — until bizarrely redefined as such by Justice Roberts as his only means of justifying the law as constitutional.

Obamacare was never anything but a cheat. On every level.—James Andrews

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The Democrats who wrote the Obamacare law said that it wasn’t a tax. Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that they were wrong and didn’t know what it was that they intended to do, therefore the law could stand. Roberts is such a [expletive].—Marcus Jones

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In my opinion, the Supreme Court picks a decision first, then tries to find something in the Constitution to back up the decision.—Brian Adair, Greenwood, S.C.

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Who cares how they stopped it, through courts or whoever? It’s done and it’s a good thing. Nobody is forced to buy ObummerCare anymore.—Jeri Williams

Corporate America’s Sexual Orthodoxy 

Dear Daily Signal: Regarding the commentary by Emilie Kao and Alexa Secrest, corporations have no business involving themselves with issues of society, except perhaps the regulation of such things as dress codes for their employees (“From Tolerance to Celebration: How Corporations Impose Sexual Orthodoxy”).

Because a corporation head, and this includes boards, has a particular opinion about an issue, that does not give them the right to use the corporation to extend that opinion—even if it is determined that a majority of employees support it.

A corporation’s objective is to create something of substance for the general public to consume, not to engage in societal endeavors.—Rockne Hughes

***

Once again, we have less than 4 percent of the nation’s population trying to tell us what to think, what to accept, and what to reject.

As a Christian, I do not accept the values of the LGBT movement. However, the way they live their lives is up to them.

Forcing others to change their lives to accommodate them is wrong. Our beliefs are, and should always be, protected by the Constitution.—Tonie Lesia Dalton

***

Don’t fool yourself into thinking LGBT activists want freedom for everyone. If you want to be gay, knock yourself out. Don’t expect me to abandon my beliefs in order to keep from hurting your feelings, though. You are not the only ones with rights.—Jennifer Elsrod Crawford,  Richmond, Ind.

***

They show no “tolerance” for the baker, the florist, the photographer, the wedding venue, the churches, or anyone who doesn’t see it their way.—Tony Taylor

***

Here it goes again, blaming “corporations” for cultural ills. We are the culprits, not the “corporations.”

By endorsing the splintering of our cultural norms that have been with us for so many years, we are hosting their demise. By the end of the decade, our “way of life” will not be recognizable.—James Keeton, Fairfield, Calif.

***

One of two things: Either these corporations totally deny that anything is a perversion, or they know but don’t care where a greenback comes from. Either way, it’s pathetic.—Teddye Stephan

Discrimination at Harvard

Dear Daily Signal: About Jarrett Stepman’s commentary, “How Harvard Secretly Discriminates Against Americans of Asian Descent”: Harvard should treat all applicants as Americans and rate them by individual performance, not as a group.—Tom Demissie, Nacogdoches, Texas

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When did all of this became out of hand? We are out of control, with everything being about race.—Nancy B. Cantor Wallace

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Age discrimination in employers’ hiring also must be addressed.—Bob Chojnowski, Chicago

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Try being over 50 years of age. Age discrimination is alive and kicking in the USA.—Bob Hammond, Hampstead, N.C.

Jeremiah Poff helped to compile this column.

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