Bill Wakefield of Princeton
’Troubling’ letter
on ‘iIllegal aliens’
To the editor:
It is troubling to read a letter in The Princeton Packet on May 30, that in the absence of facts, asserts that the recent outbreak of salmonella at Princeton University may be traceable to “illegal aliens” simply because instructions to food workers are issued in Spanish as well as English.
Legally, English proficiency may be a requirement for naturalized citizenship but it is not a requirement for legal status in the United States nor for the right to work. In a country that prides itself on diversity it is a dangerous assumption that anyone who does not speak English is undocumented and, therefore, must have entered the country illegally.
The United States was founded by people who came here in order to provide a *better* future for their families. Regardless of how one feels about illegal entry, assuming that anyone who cannot speak English is “illegal” suggests a lack of an historical understanding of the assimilation of past immigrant populations.
It should also be pointed out that the phrase “American or naturalized citizens” is inappropriate. Naturalized citizens are Americans, not a separate class. It is interesting that, in this case, the finger of blame was pointed at Princeton University, whose 2006 Latin Salutatorian, Dan-el Padilla Peralta, was undocumented.
Bill Wakefield
Prospect Avenue
Princeton
