Thank immigrants for the contributions they make

A dark side of human nature arises when, faced with tough economic conditions or rapid social change, we search for "others" to become scapegoats for a variety of ills. Some of these tendencies have had horrific results, such as Adolf Hitler's rise in Germany. "Majorities" of Americans have railed against the waves of Catholic, Jewish, Chinese, Irish or German immigrants. While it's no longer acceptable to overtly disparage particular minorities, immigrants continue to provide an easy target, being blamed for such wide-ranging problems as terrorism, a sagging economy and environmental degradation (Immigrants take toll on American life, Insight, July 30). Over the past decade, politicians have made immigration a hot-button issue. Polls show snapshots of Americans' responses to questions about immigration enforcement, but there is near-unanimous agreement that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. [more ]

• Has anyone told Arnold Schwarzenegger about Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo?  [more ]