Immigrants just as deserving of refuge now as they’ve always been
Ray Berger seems to say in his letter (“Think first before welcoming latest wave of refugees,” April 5) that now that he and his family are safely away from the Nazi’s grip, we should close the borders.
He also cloaks himself in the flag when he states, proudly, that his parents strove to learn English quickly. Well Ray, I also had to learn quickly in the 1950s to mask my foreign accent in order to avoid the snide remarks typical of people who considers themselves superior (I still have an accent by the way, in all of the four languages I speak).
As for crimes perpetrated by foreigners, in a letter by Maggie Fertschneider (“Violence only begets more violence,” April 5), published the same day, the statistics she gives on our own murderous bent should make us ashamed to denigrate others and should make us somewhat humble.
Come on Ray, there is good and bad in all of us. Let us not give Donald Trump and his ignorant followers any more ammunition.
Joseph Codispoti, Los Osos
This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Immigrants just as deserving of refuge now as they’ve always been."