Brusso column ignorant about immigration

Aaron Brusso’s column about his employee, Armondo, who was deported as he was an illegal alien shows ignorance on his part.

First of all, there are many people who immigrate to the U.S. legally. We should have more sympathy for them than someone who came through our border without the proper authorization and through an area other than a legal port of entry. Second of all, Armondo was paying taxes. Under whose tax ID number? If he was not documented, he would not have been issued one or able to get one through the proper channels. Third, if Bet Torah was employing an undocumented worker for 20 years, they have broken the law and should face the proper penalties. Surely they should know what prevailing U.S. law is, especially if they have used legal counsel for this case.

While Armando may have been an upstanding citizen, as far as Brusso is concerned, he did break our laws as did the synagogue. America is a nation of laws and they need to be enforced. Because someone wishes to come here and violate our sovereignty by entering illegally does not mean they should be allowed to stay when they are caught.

Not too many Mexican citizens are persecuted by their government or are fleeing civil war. Someone seeking asylum needs to either go to the next safest country to apply or go to a U.S. embassy or council to apply. That is international law and how the rest of the world works. They cannot cross the border without going through a legal port of entry with proper documentation.

Brusso should understand that Torah teaches us to uphold the laws of the land we live in with few exceptions. Harboring a criminal invader and employing him may not be in the spirit of Jewish or U.S. law.
Andrew Neft
Upper St Clair

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