Illegals' 'crime' minor

I confess that my ancestors were immigrants. I suppose they weren't illegal when they came, but the only thing that made them legal was that they purchased tickets to travel to America by boat over 100 years ago when nobody cared about legality. That was it. Still, nobody here welcomed them. Everyone here was tired of immigrants. They had strange customs, dangerous religions and were clearly illiterate because they spoke unintelligible languages. They were looking for a better life for their children and themselves, and though it took several generations, life eventually did get better.

I look at today's legal and illegal immigrants, particularly those from other areas of our continent, and I see my ancestors again. We treat them much as our newly arrived ancestors were treated. "The list" of local illegal immigrants is, at best, reminiscent of Southern lynching during the civil rights movement, and, at worst, of Hitler's lists in Nazi Germany. Either way, it is terrifying and completely against our Utah values and heritage. Yes, a few Latinos come to commit crimes, but the rest come with the same reasons my ancestors did, committing a "crime" in the process. If the worst crime I have to own up to on Judgment Day is the sin of trying to improve my posterity's chance to survive and thrive, as so many from this "list" are guilty of, I will consider my life worthwhile. In the meantime, I would hope we would take on the role of good Samaritan rather than hostile Nazi.

Alison Spencer

Provo