Asylum seekers are not illegal or undocumented

The letter by Randy Harris titled “Flirting with legal system” needs correction and clarification. He wrote, “If ordinances were to refer specifically to undocumented or illegal immigrants, then the ordinances might withstand legal challenges in that they are curtailing or preventing an illegal activity.” He is referring to ordinances being passed by suburban communities prohibiting the buses from Texas coming to their community to drop off immigrants on their way to Chicago.

The migrants on the buses are neither undocumented nor illegal. They are seeking asylum and are vetted and processed at the border and allowed into the country until their assigned asylum hearing dates before asylum judges. Some are met by family or friends. Some are even given temporary work permits (work for which there is a shortage of workers, by the way).

It is important to remember that those seeking asylum in the United States have a legal right to do so. Learn the definition of asylum seekers.

Diane Niesman

Wheaton