Eric Thieleman’s recent column on illegal immigration, Undocumented people a problem (SN 9/20) contained multiple inaccurate statements. Thieleman started off by claiming that illegal immigration will lead to an “economic crisis.” Thieleman also cited Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), in claiming that illegal immigrants kill 25 Americans a day, something that has been debunked by liberal watchdog groups. By using a U.S. Government Accountability Office report on noncitizens in federal prisons, King got creative. Using the FBI homicide and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration drunken driving statistics, King simply multiplied the percentage of noncitizens in federal prisons by the number of homicides and came up with 12 people murdered daily and did the same for drunken driving deaths. Besides producing a grossly inaccurate number, King failed to look at the combined percentage of noncitizens in state and federal prisons, which presents a more balanced picture.

As a Republican, I have become increasingly concerned over the restrictionist views coming from editorials like this. If Republicans hope to win future elections, it would be wise not to alienate Hispanics, who are becoming more and more important in elections. The right way to approach immigration is with pragmatism, which means comprehensive immigration reform, not forcing 10 million people to leave and closing America’s door.