Sabin cites the many positive financial contributions Hispanics have made to the American economy and, by inference, to our local community as well. She makes no distinction as to whether those contributions are from Hispanic citizens, lawfully admitted residents, aliens here with legal work permits or visas, illegal immigrants or a combination thereof. As noted in their titles, Sabin’s sources of information are all Hispanic-affiliated entities.
Those contributions are significant and certainly worthy of acknowledgement. However, in fairness to readers, I would like to see reporting on the cost of illegal Hispanic aliens to America and, by similar inference, the cost of illegal aliens to Federal Way. Such reporting should include costs associated with providing welfare, food stamps, Medicaid and WIC benefits to those illegal immigrants as well as free lunches at schools and costs to school districts related to teaching undocumented children.
The reporting should also include the cost to hospitals for providing emergency room services to illegal aliens which remain unpaid. We also need information on the costs related to incarceration of undocumented aliens. I doubt if there is any way to put a figure to the number of jobs illegal immigrants hold in America or Federal Way that would otherwise be filled by citizens or lawfully admitted aliens.
Similarly, there is probably no way to gauge how much federal and state payroll taxes are lost because most undocumented workers are paid in cash “under the table.” If Sabin has any information on these issues, perhaps she would be willing to share it in a follow-up article.
I am not looking to place blame for national or local financial woes on illegal aliens; blame does not accomplish anything. I am simply looking for a full and complete reporting of all the facts, facts which I would want to see regardless of the ethnic, religious or racial group involved. I agree with Sabin that it is more productive to look for solutions and work together to implement them. We should begin with comprehensible, reasonable and responsible immigration reform.
George Jackson, Federal Way
