The folks who came here to pick crops and wash cars have branched out into every area of the country and have pushed many native-born Americans out of high-paying construction, medical and trucking jobs and others that used to pay a lot more 10 years ago. Because someone left the floodgates open, those jobs have only declined in wages per hour.

The thing that bothers a majority of us born here is that a lot of the illegals who have been here for five to 10 years cannot even fathom our language, even though all public school systems in the state offer free English classes. The only way their children learn the language is when they start school, often holding whole classes back. I have never been able to understand why we have to print voting material in 15 different languages, when to vote you have to be a citizen who speaks, reads and writes in English.

Although it is too little too late, the hiring of a large number of new border patrol officers, the new fence, and Rep. Elton Gallegly’s bills to try to bolster our borders will help. Without the citizens who have volunteered to watch the border, I really doubt that much of anything would have been done.

— Ralph N. Burquist, Simi Valley