34 • The Beacon April 17, 2025

Letter to the Editor,

Over the past 20 years, I’ ve worked with Latin American immigrants in Coshocton and Tuscarawas counties, primarily in health services. Immigrant friends have welcomed me into their homes and churches, and they would love to be equally welcomed in our homes and towns.

These neighbors give much more to our economy than the legal benefits that their families might receive. The charge that immigrants are criminals is categorically false; police departments verify the low rates of crime among these folks. Most are young, contributing to Social Security funds through hard, usually

manual work such as construction and agriculture. The number of churchgoing immigrants is known to outnumber those who fill many American pews.

Why do they not come legally? Because our legislators have not had the will to reform the immigration process. For the folks who have immigrated over recent years from war-torn, poverty-stricken countries, legal access is nearly impossible. Foreigners who would like to

live in the US, even work here, must first pay for an interview appointment at a US embassy; for many, this amount is the equivalent of several months’ work. That interview does not guarantee a visa. In fact, in the vast majority of cases, no visa is granted, and there is no reimbursement for the appointment fee – it’ s a gamble lost. So, immigrants end up borrowing funds from friends and family to pay human smugglers, risking a long and dangerous journey. Those smugglers hand over this money to cartels that control our borders. It’ s the cartels that tell folks when and how to slip into the US. If only – if only immigrants could be granted legal visa status, they could come in legally, thereby undercutting these violent cartels. If only.

Once immigrants do cross the border, they are afforded an opportunity for asylum. Why? Because our country has a history of providing shelter and care to those most in need.

Many of us have ancestors who arrived from Europe. Were they legal? Yes, just by setting foot here, they could come in. Granted, they suffered discrimination and hard times. But they had legal status – before the visa system began.

We are quickly moving to police state tactics in this country – evaluating folks based on appearance, opinions, language, and presumptions of guilt, with no due process or consideration of current legal status. This is not who we are.

Immigrant parents that I know well are raising their children with a laser focus on education; these are parents who had little opportunity to study. If you lived in a place where food, shelter, education, and security were hard to come by, what would you do for your children?

Americans have always had a taste for foods from other places, and to know more languages and discover other cultures. But who hasn’ t also enjoyed showing newcomers the things that make this country a creative, arts-filled, inventive, and care-filled place to be? Let’ s set aside differences and fears and be those people again, giving immigrants a legal chance.

Sara King Fresno

Letters to the Editor must be 500 words or less, should include name and place of residence, and include no personal attacks. Letters will be published based on availability of space, and AloNovus Corp. reserves the right not to publish and to edit for clarification purposes. Letters should be emailed to Editor Josie Sellers at jsellers @ alonovus. com.