Copyright Santa Clarita Valley Signal
I have often taken exception to many of Gary Horton’s opinions in The Signal. Mr. Horton is a successful businessman and a valuable member of our community. I have deeply disagreed with many of his political positions and how his Democratic Party has damaged California with their one-party rule. However, this time, it is personal. There is a hypocrisy in his Nov. 5 column that cannot be ignored. My takeaway from his article is that in order to show other humans dignity, we must reform our immigration policies. He wants to respect the rule of law, but wants to disregard it to show “dignity” to those who are illegally entering and profiting from our country. Our country has depended on immigrant labor to prosper. For many generations, we have needed the influx of people from all over the world to build our roads, railroads, bridges and buildings for our nation to grow and prosper. Now, we depend on them to pick our crops and mow our lawns. This demand for low-cost labor has created the opportunity for immigrants to circumvent the law and supply the need for workers. Employers have overlooked the existing laws in order to get the job done, profitably. Society has appreciated the economical accomplishment and accepted the lawlessness. Mr. Horton’s hypocrisy sneaks out in his conspiratorial question, “How’s it going with ICE?” The complaint is shared that they are supposed to “go after criminals.” But isn’t someone who has deliberately, illegally crossed our border in order to profit from our economy become a criminal by that act? Mr. Horton continues his hypocrisy by quoting, “Sometimes, like no rules.” He goes on to give false praise to the character of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — but to accuse them of not following rules does not give them the dignity he wants us to show illegal immigrants. Can Mr. Horton fact-check his own article? Can he provide details about ICE removing someone from the Santa Clarita Valley who was entitled to be here? He quotes his former employee and friend, but is it true? Mr. Horton conveniently overlooks a significant reason that illegal immigrants lack the dignity he feels society does not bestow on them. The strength of America’s “melting pot” history is exactly that — a melting pot. For nearly three centuries, peoples from all over the world came to achieve “our dream.” There have always been ethnic neighborhoods, but the “next generations” assimilated into the language and culture, and contributed to our heritage. How else would the SCV have tacos, sushi, spaghetti, kabobs and croissants all in the same block? However, there are now neighborhoods and communities that retain their foreign ways of life and do not assimilate. They do not participate in the melting pot of the American dream, but preserve the issues of their homeland — often the same problems they sought to flee. Mr. Horton begins and ends his article discussing the problem of human dignity. A laudable goal and sorely lacking in society — and worthy of serious discussion. But to blame it on the political issues of immigration and ICE enforcement is beneath his own dignity. Jim Scott
