U.S. immigration

Regarding your "Our Opinion" item appearing July 11: It was a little surprising that out of what were fine remarks made by Sen. Roy Blunt, you chose one sentence: "Legal immigration is one of the things that made our country as great as it is." While this is somewhat true, the use of the words "legal immigration" do not appear in federal law until the late 19th century.

Until then, pretty much anyone was welcome. Of course, "welcome" is a relative term. Those who may have felt less "welcome" included those brought from Africa and Barbados, indentured servants and the indigenous peoples, Native Americans, as well as those forced to "come to" America as a result of the war against Mexico.

Lack of space does not permit me to go into detail regarding the laws passed once the concept of legal immigration entered our federal legislation, but often it was used to exclude "undesirable" folks, including Chinese and other Asians, and people from southern or eastern Europe.

Conversely, it has and/or is still aiding other groups, such as people from other countries who supposedly possess qualities impossible to find among our current citizens (and who, just incidentally, are willing to work for much lower wages than their American counterparts) and Cubans who have had a foot-on-the-ground arrangement not available to other Latin Americans and people from the Caribbean fleeing oppression.

HARRY A. BLANTON, Cape Girardeau