Look to history for lessons on immigration

America is made up of immigrants. Most of us are proud of our heritage from other countries. But our ancestors learned English and came her legally. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in the early 1900s and through the 1920s, 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. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were defending the United States of America as one people.

And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges with a different set of rules, one that includes the use of their native language and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about.

Tina Brasher

Hoffman Estates