I find it a little uncomfortable being on the same side (albeit not for the same reasons) as Mr. Silent Majority True American.

Just to clear the air, and because I am educated in this: Spain is a European culture and is physically located in Europe, as opposed to England which is not.

The Spanish acted as the bulwark against a dangerous and aggressive Islam for the better part of 800 years. It was the combined houses of Aragon and Castille which finally defeated Islam in Western Europe in 1492.

In 1525 it was the Holy Roman Emperor Charles I (Charles V of Spain) who defeated the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent at the gates of Vienna and stopped the Ottoman drive into Southern Europe.

It was a combined Spanish, Venetian, Papal fleet which destroyed the Sultan’s fleet at Lepanto in 1571. Christendom and Europe owe a great deal to the Spanish.

The societies founded by the descendants of the conquering Spanish in the New World are themselves culturally rich. The Spanish language is beautifully clear and expressive, and Latin music and art certainly vie with any found in the world.

Additionally as a person born Roman Catholic (albeit of Irish descent) I was just a little put out by Mr. True American that the form of Christianity brought here by these recent immigrants is somehow anathema to our “main religion.”

Here is the painful part: I cannot agree with the idea that residency is a human right and therefore transcends national laws.

Thomas Paine wrote that we form societies from our wants and government from our evils (I’m paraphrasing). Our government, supposedly acting on our behalf and for the good of the society we have formed, has enacted laws which determine eligibility to work and stay in this country if you are not born here.

There are many reasons to do this, not the least of which is our own security. Our answer to the problem of illegal, undocumented immigration here has been to pretty much ignore it. If you try to get through U.S. Customs without a passport, even as a U.S. citizen, you are going to have a hard time. Once you’re in, though, it doesn’t seem to matter.

The people who enter the country illegally come here to work. In order to do so they must falsify a federal document to obtain a Social Security number.

Now if you or I fill out a government form, we tend to notice the warning against making false statements, and the concomitant penalty if we’re found guilty of doing so. Why does this apply to us, but not to illegal migrants?

We are not an immature nation anymore. The open spaces are filled in, the roads are full, our schools are bursting. We should not slam the door shut on immigration, but we should demand that the government control who enters this country, and the legal due process manner in which this is achieved.

If we allow the people who have violated our laws to stay here, we will soon be getting a great deal more. While these may be the most wonderful, hard-working individuals in the world, they are not entitled to come here without our government’s permission.

The present conundrum has produced some very strange bedfellows so it shouldn’t surprise me that I seek the same end (but for far different reasons) as Mr. Silent Majority True American.

I believe there is broad-based opposition to the proposed immigrant bill because we as a people don’t believe the government will actually keep its word. Until they solve the very real problem of illegal immigration, how can we give them carte blanche to deal with our huge population of illegal immigrants?

I have a solution. Institute a true system for checking a person’s status when they apply for work. Make the penalty for knowingly avoiding this system so egregious that employers will obey.

Many illegal aliens will leave, and the reason for coming here will be eliminated.

Securing the southern border will not stop the flow as long as our neighbors are significantly materially poorer.

This may sound harsh, but it is the only way to finally get this thing under control. When the floodgates are closed we can think about a humane solution to the problem of the people already here.

In the absence of this determined end to illegal immigration, we should not even consider legitimizing those who have violated our laws.

Timothy J. Parker

Peachtree City, Ga.