U.S. needs to be selective on immigration

Dear Mr. Gene Morris,

I would like to respond to your full page political letter. Since I’m not as prosperous, I will use the Open Forum.

I, too, am in favor of immigration, but it must have some degree of order. I’m here because of immigration being available.

My first relatives who came to America arrived in 1630. Several stories to comment on to justify my opinion.

My maternal lineage thought they had bought a ticket from Germany to the United States. It took them 20 years to get enough money to come to America. They arrived in New York and took a train to Red Willow County in Nebraska.

On this journey, two sons died. Can you imagine a mother who had to get off the train to bury a son one day? Next day, back on the train, not flowers, no tombstone — tough people.

I don’t know all the story, but someone in the Ash Creek community southeast of McCook, Neb., took them in, providing them food and housing until they could get resettled.

No United States dollars were spent.

Story No. 2: My brothers-in-law’s family were residents of Latvia during World War II. They were following the Germans who were retreating to the West. Their purpose was to make sure they were in front of the Russians. For two years, they were in a refugee camp in Western Europe.

A church in Kearney County, Neb., took over the sponsorship of them. The church paid their transportation and provided the family a home, job, clothes, medical care, for two years. This family was resourceful enough that they were able to leave the program for a better job, home in a little over a year. This was accomplished with no cost to a United States citizen.

The packing company in Crete, Neb., felt that the Spanish population was demanding more and more wages, so they recruited Somalians under a refugee program. Today the crime rate in Crete, Neb., is higher and school test results much lower.

I would suggest that Germany is not very happy with their refugee program.

Two new members of Forbes’ billionaire club are immigrants. These two Indians who immigrated to the United States 20-plus years ago.

I suggest to Mr. Morris that until he is ready to sponsor a family from El Salvador of six people and provide for them for two years, their home, food, clothes, transportation, medical expense and a job with his personal finances that he rethinks his push for open borders.

We do not need to go all out for open borders, but be selective.

Maybe the native North American Indians should have made a wall about 480 years ago. We as undocumented, uninvited refugees and immigrants did not treat them very well.

Del Harsh,

Cambridge, Neb.