Editor:
    Two weeks ago in the US Senate, there were rapid-fire amendments to a questionable immigration plan put forward by 12 senate members on both sides of the issue and a lot of in-between. Some made a lot of sense and others were not in good taste or founded in truth. There is more to come on both sides now that the Senate has reconvened.
    I have no issue with us knowing who is in the country and I have no issue with cracking down on people that pose a true danger to us all. I have no issue with saving jobs that people here need and will take. So where do both sides differ?
    Most of us are going in the same direction. Depending on polls over the last few years, between 62 percent and 85 percent of people across the board support undocumented people staying in the US, keeping their jobs and having a legal status. People do not think that people should be lying back raking it in, I have no issue with that and few, if any, do.
    We should look at this in some order. Then Governor Bush liked to say about  undocumented workers in his state, “Show me a man that will work to find work to take care of his family and I will show you a man  that we need in Texas.”
    What is changed, 9/11, right? I have a question. What does one have to do with the other? Not one of the attackers was from Latin America, none were undocumented, not one crossed the Rio Bravo, not one spoke Spanish, and not one had a Latin American passport.
    Immigration needs to be talked about honestly. What do you think about the terms illegals, the border, Spanish, Mexico, Guatemala or the Dominican Republic? Do you think Canada, Ireland, Somalia, England, Russia?
    A Point System is a stacked deck against the vast majority of people that come to the US now without papers. People that are poor, hard working, and have not had the chance for a higher education do not have a prayer.
    The fact is we need the people that are here now and maybe more, do we need 200,000 400,000 600,000? No. What happens if we flood the US with workers and no jobs?
    What happens if we try to deport 12 million people and their dependents? What is the social and economic impact to us all?
    There is talk about $5,000 a head fine in Maine. There are other costs that could ruin a family of four. The total could reach over $60,000.
    Many of the undocumented people pay taxes now and many under these bills will have to pay it over. At the same time there are members in Congress that want to refuse these 12 million the right to any services they help pay for.
    This will have a major impact on Maine. We have undocumented people across our state, and the vast majority are good hard working people. People you may see everyday. You may work and go to church with them. Their children and yours may be friend. If you don’t then you can be sure that their work and labor impacts your life everyday.
    Let us fix what needs to be fixed, but let’s do it in ways so we credit our values, instead of grabbing for a larger hammer and beating it. It is time for a little grace, humanity and human values.
    It is time to tell our members of Congress to listen to the people. Last year millions of people across the US marched, rallied, met and voted in large numbers. The other side found it hard to find 1,000 at all their events.
John Connors,President Maine Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
South Portland