Lauds Mayor’s Courage

I applaud Culver City Mayor Steven Gourley for his courage to speak out about the impact of illegal immigrants (Times, March 28). The mayor is not a racist or a xenophobe, he is a forthright realist. His observations about the near state of collapse and the abysmal condition of our public schools, hospitals, courts, jails and freeways are 100% correct.

We are no longer a land of plenty. Our present economic bankruptcy is the result of a generation of political bankruptcy. We do not have the money anymore to help and better educate our own needy United States citizens and that, in itself, is a national embarrassment. We cannot be the safety net for Central America.

There may be as many as 3 million illegal immigrants living in the Los Angeles area. The only people who are apparently not aware of this are the census takers and certain myopic liberal activists. The enormous negative impact and effect that this group has had on the quality of life in Los Angeles on an everyday basis is incalculable.

RICHARD J. REDLICH

Beverly Hills