Readers write for Saturday, May 1

Editor's note: Arizona's recently signed immigration bill ("Arizona reignites immigration fight," April 24), and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's travel ban announcement ("St. Paul mayor bans city business travel to Arizona," April 29), provoked the most reader response since passage of the health care bill, so we're devoting today's entire letters package to the topic. Before St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman opines again from his ivory tower, I suggest that he visit my fine city, Chandler, Ariz. Our city is a beautiful suburb of Phoenix, has a population of 270,000 and leads Arizona in high-tech industry. Unfortunately, it has also developed a very large problem. We have literally thousands of illegal aliens who line the main thoroughfares of our city, begging for work. In some parts of the city, you cannot step out of your car without fending off 20 or 30 people pleading for work or handouts.

According to recent reports, 10 percent of Arizona's population are here illegally. This has overburdened our social services, our hospitals, our schools and our jails. While many of the illegals are trying to support their families in Mexico, there is a growing minority that have turned to crime to support themselves. Most have little or no education, can't read, can't speak English and have no interest in maintaining a vibrant, stable community.

Arizona cannot continue to bankrupt itself supporting this unproductive segment of its society. The question is whether we will we allow our state to become an extension of third-world Mexico? Will we allow our schools, hospitals and other institutions to crumble under the weight of this flood?

Ultimately, Arizona has chosen to do what the federal government will not. Arizona has decided that it must protect its quality of life.

CHRIS SCOGGIN, Chandler, Ariz.

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Bigots the country over can now rejoice. Arizona has stepped up to protect America from the illegal hordes from foreign shores who would come here to take our land, our jobs, our cultural heritage and speak in foreign tongues.

This, more often than not, was done by lying, cheating and swindling and with the spoils of wars that pitted the new settlers (illegal aliens) against the "savages."

When I hear ill-informed people say "they should learn to speak English!", I always ask: "Oh, yeah? How's your Mandan, Chippewa, Sioux, Cree or Apache?"

And let's not even begin to talk about the Spanish presence in Mexico and huge swatches of the Southwest hundreds of years before the first northern Europeans arrived. These Hispanics don't think they should go back to Mexico. They don't think they ever left!

BOB BRERETON, ST. PAUL

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I wonder how he'd feel if 1,000 illegal Canadians were entering Minnesota on a daily basis.

Is the law perfect? No. Is it racist and mean-spirited? No. Is it trying to somewhat reasonably deal with the immigration problem in Arizona and the United States? Yes.

This law is about legal vs. illegal residents, and about the citizens of Arizona who have to pay an economic price due to the increased crime associated with the illegal population. This is something Coleman has the luxury of not having to deal with in his far-removed city.

I'm still waiting for Coleman and politicians like him who are quick to boycott Arizona to propose any solution to this immigration problem. Mr. Mayor?

It sounds as though he's trying to reassure himself and perhaps his constituents that in St. Paul, "we're more compassionate, and this would never happen here."

JIM BYRON, PHOENIX

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I guess Arizona has chosen to fix the immigration issue in this country by utilizing the methods of Germany in the 1930s. Why don't we all join in and make all nonwhite people carry papers? That way we would feel so much safer knowing that we don't have a thing to worry about.

Funny how many nonwhites had red blood running out of them when we saw them defend our country.

Where are we going?

GARY ARMSTRONG, Shoreview

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I will discontinue spending any money in St. Paul as long as Mayor Coleman wants to boycott Arizona. It is the federal government's primary function to enforce the problems with illegal immigrants. If the feds don't do it, then it's up to the states. What part of his oath of office doesn't Coleman understand?

JOSEPH HARTLE, Minneapolis

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Why don't we just have our Social Security numbers tattooed on our arms to eliminate this confusion about who belongs here and who doesn't?

JEFF JANACEK, STILLWATER

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Why was St. Paul spending money to send city employees to any out-of-state meetings? There are less expensive ways to conduct meetings and training sessions: it's called video teleconferencing.

ALAN RICHTER, MINNEAPOLIS

If Minnesota were to pass a similar law, all those of northern European descent would have to carry papers verifying their citizenship. Otherwise, they might be mistaken for border-jumping, illegal aliens coming down from Canada. And woe be to anyone who ends a question with "eh?" in public.

CRAIG S. WILSON, ARDEN HILLS

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We don't need a new bridge in Stillwater, we need a wall. Those people from Wisconsin are coming to Minnesota to steal our jobs, use up our public resources and hang out in our state parks.

We need to pass a law making it mandatory that our loyal state troopers be required to pull over and search any suspicious individuals who smell like cheese or bratwurst. If the person is found to be a Packers fan, they should be immediately escorted to the border and ordered across.