The subject of immigration tends to bring out the worst in the people who respond to our stories on line. The level of xenophobic vitriol is truly breathtaking — and scary, revealing a dark undercurrent that seems ready to boil to the surface.
So when we ran an editorial this week supporting an immigration reform bill that would allow judges during deportation hearings to consider the impact on citizen children, I was ready for the worst.
After all, a story on a vigil scheduled for next week at St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church generated quite a lot of hateful responses.
The editorial elicited its share of ugly comments, as well — but this comment from someone identifying him/herself as Koleary sums up the more humane sentiments and gives me hope:
I think Catholics all need to ask ourselves. Who would we have been in the story of the nativity? Would we have been the innkeeper who turned Mary away?
I think this pretty succinctly sums up the question we all should be asking — even those of us, like myself, who are not Catholic or even Christian. This is a question of humane treatment of our fellow human beings. Shouldn’t we treat them as we’d wish ourselves to be treated?
Hank Kalet 
If we eliminate the welfare state (i.e., free medical care; free education; free handouts), then we would not, or should not, care about \”illegal\” immigration. Take off the trash bag on the Status of Liberty; we need anyone willing to work. That's what made the country great. As a corollary, eliminate the \”war on some drugs\” and we will really have a booming economy. (What with the Colombian Drug Lords will do is anyone's guess? Farming, used car sales.) This would eliminate why the \”evil\” \”illegal\” aliens would ever want to come here. Nothing left but hard work and liberty. Exactly what drew our forefathers here. Opportunity!
Illegal immigrants are here because CORPORATE America, (US Chamber of Commerce, Cato Institute, AEI, Heritage Foundation and all the corporations which fund their operations) wants them here. They are addicted to that cheap, disposable slave labor.
We don't have an illegal immigrant problem, we have an illegal business hiring problem. Corporate America and many small businesses are addicted to cheap labor. Illegals dare not complain about unfair and unsafe work conditions. If they do, they will be fired or reported to the authorities. Illegal immigrants can be easily cheated of their pay, they can be hired and then fired on any excuse, they are expendable. They won't complain for obvious reasons. Employers don't have to worry about supplying benefits to this quasi slave labor caste.Many of the big meat packing plants where illegals are employed have very unsafe work conditions. The illegals will not complain and when they become injured, they are fired. Illegals are here because we (as a nation) want them here.