Divided camps, divided opinions

By Michael Carrigan, Henderson

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

I been following the letters and opinions regarding the people who are illegally entering the United States through our southern border. It’s striking the background differences in the opposing camps.

It appears the group wanting the flow stopped and the perpetrators returned are primarily people who have jobs or are seeking one, are taxpayers, and are at a position in the workforce that is threatened by excessivelow-cost labor.

On the other-hand, those supporting open borders and non-return of the undocumented appear to line up in the camp of non-taxpayers (religious organizations, for instance) or those who spend other people’s money (politicians).

I would love to see a survey of the two camps asking questions, like “What is your federal tax burden,” “Do you work in any job threatened by migrant labor” (I doubt priests or monsignors are at risk), or “Do you want to use your own money or other people’s money to take care of the undocumented?”

There is one other group becoming more vocal — the citizens at the lower end of our economic scale who wonder why their nation isn’t more concerned about finding a long-term solution for them.