This was sent to the editor in OC Register, but was refused print.

"So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made
up
of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the
Statute
of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated
the same
as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we
should turn to our history books and point out to people like
Mr.Lujan why
today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of
immigrant any
longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of
Europe to come
to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand
in a long line
in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on
their hands and
knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the
laws and support
their new country in good and bad times. They made learning
English a primary
rule in their new American households and some even
changed their names to
blend in with their new home. They had waved good
bye to their birth place to
give their children a new life and did
everything in their power to help
their children assimilate into one
culture. Nothing was handed to them. No
free lunches, no welfare, no labor
laws to protect them. All they had were
the skills and craftsmanship they
had brought with them to trade for a future
of prosperity. Most of their
children came of age when World War II broke
out. My father fought along
side men whose parents had come straight over
from Germany, Italy, France
and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans
ever gave any thought
about what country their parents had come from. They
were Americans
fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were
defending
the United States of America as one people. When We liberated
France, no one
in those villages were looking for the French-American or the
German
American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only
Americans, and
we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of
those immigrant
sons would have thought about picking up another country's
flag and waving
it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace
to their
parents who had sacrificed so much to be
here.
These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They
stirred the
melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. And here we are in
2006 with
a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges.
Only they
want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one
that
includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to
their
mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all
about. I
believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early
1900s
deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice
in
raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon
for
those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be
appalled
that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign
country
flags. And for that suggestion about taking down the Statute of
Liberty, it
happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the
immigration
bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United
States just yet.

(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte"