Undocumented Latino immigrants are America’s latest scapegoats

Regarding the article “Nearly half of Valley adults worry about deportations” (online, April 26): We have seen certain groups become scapegoats throughout American history.

A scapegoat is someone who must take the blame for the actions of others. Scapegoats have most recently become Latino undocumented immigrants. Our new president has created the scapegoat dynamic against them and since then enacted policies that affect them the most.

Targeting undocumented Latino immigrants as America’s scapegoats is actually doing more harm than good, especially in the Valley. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, in California alone there is an estimated number of 2.5 million undocumented immigrants. About 58,000 undocumented immigrants reside in Fresno County and nearly 1 in 10 workers in California is undocumented.

Many of the field laborers here in the Valley are undocumented Latino immigrants. Removing undocumented workers from the country will create a deficit of labor which can affect California’s agriculture market the most. Food prices will go up amongst other items creating an economic crisis.

We must stop placing the blame on undocumented immigrants for this nation’s problems and see the bigger picture. California’s agriculture is sustained by undocumented immigrants.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Undocumented Latino immigrants are America’s latest scapegoats."