Dear Editor,

Another week another crazy chaotic happening at the White House. This time President Trump, our president, not your president or my president but OUR president questioned why we should accept immigrants from s***hole countries such as Haiti, El Salvador, and various unnamed African countries. He then proceeded to ask why don’t we accept more immigrants from places like Norway.

In perfectly predictable fashion, leftists lost their minds screaming racism from the highest mountaintop, while conservatives also predictably requested more information before making a judgement when they were in the room when it happened.

Get ready, the president is actually right, to an extent, putting the crassness of his language aside.

The countries that people are trying to escape en mass for the United States are likely less than ideal relative to the United States. Otherwise, they would not be trying to leave.

How many billions of dollars have gone to Haiti since the earthquake and the majority of the population still exists in abject poverty? In El Salvador, the government was forced into a truce with gangs running large portions of major cities, the state responsible for law and order had to capitulate to lawlessness. This does not imply Haitians or El Salvadorians that come here are corrupt or unproductive, they are actually among the most productive Americans.

However, as liberals like to argue, Trump is representative of what Republicans actually are, otherwise they wouldn’t have elected him. President Trump does the same thing by questioning the merits of immigrants who come from failed or failing states based on the governments in power and corruption that exists in those countries. In this case, both he and liberals have something in common, judging books by their covers.

The point is, covers have little to do with substance and generalizing whether to deny entry or caricature various groups for political gain does more harm than good. In the case of immigration, we miss out on talented individuals with an incredible work ethic that make excellent contributions to this country. We want the best people whether they are from Haiti or Norway.

So, instead of being offended by the President for his perpetuities of crassness and insensitivity, perhaps we should challenge such notions authoritatively and make the case that responsibly managed immigration from all countries is a good thing. That will go much further for more people than virtue signaling for the sake of votes or to appease a political base, both parties included.

Joseph Hyde

Economics A‘17