To the Editor:
As was evident from a previous letter of mine to The Times, I am among that minority of Americans — a substantial minority, but still only a minority — who regret that we have complacently allowed millions of foreign nationals to come and live in our country when they have no legal right, under the immigration laws enacted by Congress, to be here.
In your Aug. 14 issue, you published a long article (“For Leandro Miranda, punishment on Martha’s Vineyard follows many routes”) and a heated editorial (“Lost in translation”) concerning one Leandro Miranda, described as a Brazilian national. The article details his four arrests from March to August of this year on charges of driving without a license, fleeing from the police, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Without explicitly saying so, the article makes it clear that Mr. Miranda is here illegally. His arrests were reported to the federal immigration authorities, but they seem to have no interest in him. In the recent past our federal government was willing to deport aliens found in possession of even a small amount of illegal drugs. Perhaps it still is, but it apparently has little concern about an illegal alien who is a far greater threat to American lives, by his inclination to drive, while drunk, at over 80 mph on Vineyard roads.
Your editorial expresses outrage — which I share — at the leniency which our courts have extended to Mr. Miranda, and you call for his being sentenced to jail.
But there is not even a hint that you wish to see him deported.
I put this question to the editors of The Times. Inevitably, the day will come — perhaps in a few years — when Democrats and Republicans in Congress will finally reach agreement on legislation which extends amnesty and permanent residency to millions of aliens now living illegally. When that day comes, should Leandro Miranda be included in the amnesty? Do you consider Leandro Miranda the sort of person to who we should award the privilege of living here for the rest of his life?
R.E.L. Knight
West Tisbury