The mail.(Letter to the editor)

It's too obvious to describe Americans alarmed at illegal immigration as "racists" or "xenophobes," so an end-run has been attempted by James Glassman (FORWARD OBSERVER, May), who calls such people "nativists." I sincerely wonder how Glassman sees illegal aliens in this country as legitimate.

As a resident of the besieged state of Arizona, I can tell you this: my wife's second grade class consists of 29 children, 28 of whom are ESL (English as a Second Language). If I should have the misfortune of going to a hospital emergency room, I'll likely wait half a day to be seen as a result of the crowds of illegal aliens who receive free health care. We constantly have illegals in Arizona getting into automobile wrecks, and since they have no insurance, we're left holding the bag.

We have huge staging areas, called layups, where illegals congregate before their push north, polluting and trashing our beautiful Sonoran Desert. I will be participating in May in a cleanup of a four-acre site, as a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

I can almost envision the sneer on Glassman's face as he dismisses citizens fed up with all of this as nativists. Illegal aliens have two rights in this country: the right to be treated humanely, and the right to be humanely sent home. The constant lumping together of legal immigrants with illegal aliens, and calling them all "immigrants" is infuriating to many of us.

Anthony Ford

Phoenix, Arizona

I just finished reading Blake Hurst's excellent article, "The Making of a Cadet" (IN REAL LIFE, May) and wanted to let him know how much it touched me. I've just become the proud father of a son and have already been daydreaming about what he might grow up to be. Joining the military will someday be one of his options, and I'd be proud if he makes that choice. I also understand the guilt that Mr. Hurst is feeling about his son being in harm's way. I continue to be amazed and humbled at the seemingly endless supply of brave, noble young men our nation is blessed with.