Find real solutions on immigration

My wife and I are deeply disappointed by the remarks made by the 8th Congressional District candidates regarding immigration as reported in the Daily Herald Sept. 12. We do not feel that Melissa Bean, Bill Scheurer and Joe Walsh are addressing the real situation.

Rather than attempting to score political points with different groups of voters, these politicians should offer a comprehensive plan to solve this long festering problem. We do not believe that building more and higher walls, hiring more border guards, criminalizing people who are trying to provide for their families, and penalizing employers who are trying to run businesses are the solutions. Before we can properly address the current situation we need to first examine the causes and reasons for all this "illegal" immigration.

For far too long Americans have been unwilling to see how this country and government have caused many of the very problems we now decry. NAFTA, CAFTA and other "free trade" agreements have been good for U.S. corporations but have had a devastating impact on the economies of the Americas. Is it any wonder then so many come to this country to find work to support their families? In addition, immigrants do work that many native born people are unwilling to do for the money that business wish to pay.

It is time for us all to look at the high cost of wanting everything to be as cheap as possible. There have been many thoughtful and realistic proposals put forward. What is needed now is the political will of our elected officials to sit down and find a comprehensive solution rather than proposing short-term fixes that do nothing to get at the root causes of this problem.

Christopher and Carol Melby

Rolling Meadows