In response to Mr. Hanton’s article “U.S. has room for immigrants,” I would ask him: “Just because the United States has the room spatially, does that mean we should let any and all enter?”

I ask this because as he mentions in his article that the United States is already piping water to the desert to grow food for the population that is here, so how much more of that are we going to have to do?

A nation is determined to be wealthy when it exports more than it imports. What happens to the United States when we have to start importing more than we produce? Or where are these new people going to live? Where will they work? The United States already has a higher unemployment rate than any U.S. citizen would like to see, and yes, some of that is voluntary, but what about those who are unable to find suitable employment? Are we supposed to give jobs to those who enter legally or otherwise, and keep our current residents unemployed?

I don’t think that the average, semi-educated U.S. citizen cares about the country of origin of immigrants; it’s more along the lines of letter to the editor’s take care of our own before we take care of everyone else’s [sentiment]. I understand and empathize with people wanting to come here for a better life, but let us help those who are here and don’t mind working for a better life.

I think other countries need to take responsibility over their populace so it doesn’t become a problem for everyone else. Just like people found out here in the United States over the past few years, if you can’t afford it, then you shouldn’t have it. You will eventually hurt the majority because of your greed, i.e. current economic crisis was caused by, in my opinion, greed and the need for instant gratification. Now, there are a few things that don’t qualify for my “if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t have it” opinion. They would be food, shelter and water.

So here is my thought: If you can barely afford taking care of yourself, or yourself and your wife, perhaps you shouldn’t rush into having children. My reasoning for this is simple: With more mouths to feed comes the need for more food, water and shelter. Thus you can’t afford to live where you are at and will need to depend on the kindness of charities or governments to survive, and what if your government doesn’t give handouts? Now you have to find a country that does and start taxing that country’s government and by extension, their people.