From Mary Michal
Barneveld
To the editor:
In his State of the Union message, President Trump made the case for his immigration proposal by citing violence on the part of MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha. In my opinion, linking immigration with a violent gang is a serious error, and is not helpful in advancing solid immigration reform.
MS-13 is indeed a violent gang that originated in the 1980s in Los Angeles. Like all gangs, it's origins come from poverty, not immigration status. And one of the best defenses against gangs is a strong community that trusts its law-enforcement officials, and works with them to identify criminal activity within the community and to keep gangs out.
The hard-working Hispanic neighbors and friends of mine who work on local dairy farms add to the strong economy we hope for in our communities, and also provide a protection against any criminal activity. We all want to live in safe communities.
Invoking fear of violent gang activity as a rationale for an exclusionary immigration policy is wrong. In my experience, many local dairy farmers and their valued employees would benefit from allowing dairy workers in Wisconsin who are undocumented to obtain green cards. In fact, Senator Ron Johnson has introduced legislation that would support that. Let's think first about how to support our local agricultural economy, and not allow misplaced fear to take over.
Barneveld
To the editor:
In his State of the Union message, President Trump made the case for his immigration proposal by citing violence on the part of MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha. In my opinion, linking immigration with a violent gang is a serious error, and is not helpful in advancing solid immigration reform.
MS-13 is indeed a violent gang that originated in the 1980s in Los Angeles. Like all gangs, it's origins come from poverty, not immigration status. And one of the best defenses against gangs is a strong community that trusts its law-enforcement officials, and works with them to identify criminal activity within the community and to keep gangs out.
The hard-working Hispanic neighbors and friends of mine who work on local dairy farms add to the strong economy we hope for in our communities, and also provide a protection against any criminal activity. We all want to live in safe communities.
Invoking fear of violent gang activity as a rationale for an exclusionary immigration policy is wrong. In my experience, many local dairy farmers and their valued employees would benefit from allowing dairy workers in Wisconsin who are undocumented to obtain green cards. In fact, Senator Ron Johnson has introduced legislation that would support that. Let's think first about how to support our local agricultural economy, and not allow misplaced fear to take over.
