Shame on The Day for publishing Lee Elci's casserole of nonsense on immigration. 

In his Jan. 9 op-ed, “Protect the border, focus on the needs of Americans, particularly veterans,” Elci trots out every cliché without making a convincing case for limits on immigration. He fear-mongers falsely about immigrants being responsible for drug and gang violence in a country where mass shootings are so common they barely make the nightly news. 

America is going broke because it's being pillaged by the ultra-rich, not because people come here seeking a better life.

Elci wrings his hands about the treatment of veterans, but fails to mention that the Trump administration's handling of Veterans Affairs has been dismal. 

He waxes rhapsodic about Ellis Island. What Elci fails to mention is that America thrived precisely due to the large influx of immigrants during the Ellis Island era. Today, 7.6 percent of immigrants are self-employed, compared to 5.6 percent of native-born Americans, and they founded more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies. 

I'd rather not see Elci's wannabe Trumpism in the pages of The Day again, since he already has a platform for ill-informed xenophobia.

Matthew Clark

Mystic

Editor’s Note: Clark is a former reporter for The Day.