FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 27, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 33
oped
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN CORONA // PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @single_sunbeam
Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on
Instagram, visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
letters & comments
Immigration policy
is creating tragedy
BY STATE SENATOR JAMES SANDERS, JR.
We must once again question President
Trump’s immigration policies and the way we
treat migrants seeking asylum who enter our
country illegally.
Earlier this month a 7-year-old child died
while in the custody of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection. She had been traveling from
Mexico with her father when they, and about
160 others, were arrested in a remote part of
the desert near New Mexico for trying to enter
the United States illegally.
About 8 hours later, the child became very
ill and started having seizures. CBP said it
appeared she hadn’t had anything to eat or
drink in several days. She died less than 24
hours after being airlifted to a hospital for
treatment.
A White House spokesman called the death a
“tragic situation,” but he added that the Trump
administration is not to blame. He said: “Does
the administration take responsibility for a
parent taking a child on a trek through Mexico
to get to this country? No.” He further called
upon Congress to “disincentivize” migrants
from crossing the border illegally and encourage
people to come into the country “the right
way, the legal way.”
However, that is somewhat of a contradiction
since the Trump administration has made
the path to citizenship harder than ever before
by denying visas and green cards and implementing
measures aimed at keeping people
out rather than letting them in. Let’s not forget
that Trump is still trying to build a wall at
the Southern border of the United States and
Mexico.
The Trump administration even uses threats
and fear as a deterrent. We have all seen the
news reports of families being torn apart at
the border and heard stories of the prison
like conditions at migrant detention centers.
The American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) Border Rights Center blamed the
girl’s death on “inhumane conditions,” a “lack
of accountability, and a culture of cruelty,”
which have “exacerbated policies that lead to
migrant deaths.”
The CBP said it took all of the steps possible
to save the little girl’s life.
However, just a week before this girl’s death,
CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan testified
before Congress that the areas where illegal
immigrants are taken into federal custody
“were meant to handle mostly male single
adults, not families or children.
We need to repair our immigration system -
that goes without question - but we also need
to conduct our fair share of global humanitarian
efforts, so that the conditions in other countries
do not become so dire that one would risk
their own life or the life of their child in order
to seek asylum.
Here in Southeast Queens, we must be concerned
because it could be one of our friends,
loved ones or neighbors, making that journey
towards a better life with fatal results. I agree
with those who have called for an investigation
into this toddler’s death.
We must do all we can to ensure that this
never happens again.
Sanders represents the 10th Senatorial District.
WALMART STILL
UNWELCOME HERE
In response to Larry Penner’s recent
letter (“Why can’t NYC residents shop
at Walmart?,” Dec. 6), there are many
reasons why elected offi cials might
want to prevent Walmart from coming
to New York City.
First, despite being some of the
wealthiest people in the country, the
Waltons are notorious for paying low
wages, meaning that many of their
workers can’t aff ord their health plan
or they aren’t eligible. Because most
Walmart employees aren’t paid a living
wage, they turn to government
programs such as Medicaid and food
stamps for help. Th erefore, the low
wages paid by Walmart are oft en subsidized
by us, the taxpayers. It is doubtful
that these workers will ever be “trained
for higher paying managerial positions,”
as indicated in Penner’s letter.
Second, I read in Consumer Reports
that, while prices for some items at
Walmart are indeed low, many of
their prices are not low, so actual savings
are questionable.
Th ird, Walmart causes a lot of small
businesses to close aft er they move
into an area. Th ere is already too little
competition in some American
industries. We don’t need this behemoth
expanding into New York City
and squashing the competition here.
Linda Imhauser, Whitestone
BLAME IT ON THE
REPUBLICANS
Regarding gun control, John Amato
generalizes freely when he says “our
country” seems to have lost all decency,
“our politicians” seem unable
to move ahead with any legislation.
He asks when are “these politicians”
going to wake up and face reality,
and that something needs to be done
by “Congress.” (“What have we done
about guns?,” Dec. 20)
Here’s something he should know-
According to data from the nonpartisan
Center for Responsive Politics,
99% of the $1 million in NRA contributions
to congressional candidates in
2016 went to Republicans. Th e NRA
used to contribute to both parties relatively
equally.
What changed? Simple, in the fall
of 1994, the Democratic-controlled
Congress (with opposition from
the NRA) passed a 10-year federal
ban on assault weapons (recently
allowed to expire by, you guessed it,
Republicans). In the two-year period
leading up to the vote on the issue, the
NRA increased its contributions to
Republicans by about $675,000 while
reducing contributions to Democrats
by nearly $200,000. It was the group’s
largest single-cycle — or two-year —
dip in donations to Democrats.
So there you have it, Mr. Amato. It’s
the Republican part of “our country”.
It’s the Republican part of “these politicians”.
And it’s the Republican part
of “Congress.”
Robert LaRosa, Whitestone
SENIORS STILL HAVE
PLENTY OF DO
I was reading a few weeks ago about
a survey that pointed out that one out
of fi ve senior citizens aft er the age of
65 are still working. Th ere are many
reasons why some seniors are still
working.
Some are working because of fi nancial
issues make it necessary. Th an
there are those who feel the need and
belief there is more they can accomplish.
We have those in entertainment
business, doctors, lawyers, professionals.
Th ere are those who believe they
can still make a diff erence.
Th en there are those like myself who
feel we are not ready to fully retire and
that we still have more to off er. I work
for Northeast Plumbing in Mineola. I
have been employed there for over 38
years and I will be 70 years old next
summer. I have been quite lucky to
have great bosses who have been supported,
kind and understanding over
the years. Th ey are Laura Weimer and
Jim Simpson who run the company
and I thank them for all that they have
done for me.
Th e reason I say this is because I
had an aggressive cancer three years
ago and had a total of four operations
during this period. Th ey kept me with
the company and I have been working
part-time. I don’t know if many
employers would have done the same.
Our senior citizens have much to
off er in the workplace and deserve a
chance to prove it. So please employers
give a job to a senior citizen; you
will be glad that you did.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
Email your letters to editorial@qns.
com (Subject: Letter to the Editor) or
leave a comment to any of our stories
at QNS.com. You can also send a
letter by regular mail to Letters to the
Editor, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY
11361. All letters are subject to editing.
Names will be withheld upon request,
but anonymous letters will not be
considered for publication. Th e views
expressed in all letters and comments
are not necessarily those of this newspaper
or its staff .
/QNS.com
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
