Letters to the Editor: Biden’s border shutdown is about stopping Trump, not immigration

To the editor: Law professor Karen Musalo needs to check her priorities. (“Why Biden’s new border plan is a terrible idea,” Opinion, June 7)

As President Biden accurately noted, two centuries of American democratic tradition are on the Nov. 5 ballot. Former President Trump’s provocation of a violent mob to interrupt the 2020 electoral process merely hints at the stakes.

The border is one of a few issues on which Trump gets traction with voters. Republicans in Congress already declined a reasonable bipartisan border bill because they understand that in the long run the campaign issue means more than border policy. Why can’t Musalo see that?

Biden’s plan shows a willingness to make difficult, even painful decisions to protect the border. That’s important to many wavering voters.

The recent D-Day commemoration should remind us that nearly 300,000 Americans died protecting freedom and democracy during World War II. The possible toll on the border pales in comparison, but the stakes for the election do not.

If Biden wins, there will be four years to get it right on the border. If he loses, border issues will land toward the bottom of a long list of potential calamities.

Daniel Stone, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Last year, a group of Democrats and Republicans in Congress agreed on a border reform bill, but we never got a chance to see it work. Seeking the presidency again, Trump stopped the bill dead in its tracks for his own selfish gain.

The immigrants who have come into our country since President Biden took office have “vastly raised the supply of workers after a U.S. labor shortage had left many companies unable to fill jobs,” as described in a separate article appearing in The Times’ print edition. It went on to say that “immigrant workers have eased the pressure on companies to sharply raise wages and pass on the costs to their customers via higher prices.”

More workers help lower inflation. They also pay Social Security and other payroll taxes.

Except for Native Americans, we are all immigrants. In the mid-1800s, our country welcomed a wave of roughly 3 million Germans. Among them were my ancestors who settled in New Mexico. They came to the U.S. for economic and political reasons.

Sound familiar? People from around the world have come here and worked hard to make America the greatest country in the world.

Native-born Americans are no longer producing enough children to sustain our economy for future generations. Now, Republicans want to cut off our lifeline by stopping immigration.

Anastacio Vigil, Santa Monica

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To the editor: I’m confused.

For years the White House has claimed there was no crisis at the border and, as president, Biden had no authority to unilaterally change the situation. Any solution would require an act of Congress.

Now he sees, as we all did, there is a crisis, and he does have the authority to do something about it.

Why has he been telling us differently for so long?

Dan Naber, Santa Ana