---

Dear Editor:
In 1986 Republican President Reagan signed the bipartisan IRCA, Immigration Reform and Control Act, which gave amnesty to about 3 million illegals in exchange for securing the border and employer penalties.
However, the border was never secured, violating the law's intent ever since. Instead, the law made the US a magnet for greater illegal entry, and now up to 20 million people are here illegally. An open border is what Democrats want, arguing the US had an open border policy some 100 years ago, which is true.
An open border can never be fair and even to the vast majority of people, which are separated from the US by oceans and vast distances.
Secondly, are the 2 times the same, then and now? When my ancestors came in the mid 1800's the US economy was agrarian and land was offered cheap to lure farmers like my ancestors. An agrarian economy doesn't require a highly skilled workforce. Today we have undergone not one but 2 economic revolutions, an industrial one and a technological one. We compete with the whole world for goods and services for our standard of living now which wasn't true then.
Another huge difference is in social benefits and services. Back then there was next to nothing. There was
no Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, property and health insurance,health system providing care and cheap immunizations, jobs training, etc. The list goes on and on. A person waslucky to live past 50. My family has many early deaths as was the norm. One of my ancestors even died on thetrip here and was buried at sea. When my and so many ancestors said goodbye to their parents it was for the restof their lives. With a 3 month voyage one way by sail, they couldn't even go home to bury their parents.
Yet our ancestors built and laid the foundation for everything we have today,which include countless inventions and medical breakthroughs as well as social justice reforms.
There is a world of difference between then and now and it is ignorant and dishonorable to them to infer the 2 times are the same.
Because of medical breakthroughs and health research people are living much longer. The cost for the promises of Social Securityand Medicare are growing at an incredible pace. The low estimate for the unfunded liability of these programs starts at 50 trillion.
50,000,000,000,000. How are we going to pay for this? 2 thirds of the budget is for social programs. Defense is only inthe low teens for percentage. Only if we have an immigration system based on skill can we hope to keep those promises madeby many generations now. We need leaders that honestly deal with this monster debt.
A competitive market based health care system will provide the answers as market based systems have always worked inevery economic sector. The greatest family separation of all is the one currently in process - the separation of everygeneration that made the promises of the safety net we have now and the pending breaking of those promises becauseof politicians that act as if money grows on trees. However, the real fault if this happens lies with you.
Gregory Erickson
Dodgeville