LETTER: U.S. debate over immigration ignores sustainability issue

Let us look at the potential flood of refugees and the current illegal immigration into the United States. Many sympathetic to the idea believe that the United States can offer these unfortunate people a better life. But that’s not always going to be the case.

The skills that many of these people bring with them can fill lower-level jobs that are quickly disappearing in the country due to mechanization, computerization and robotics. Soon cars are going to be produced without steering wheels, thus eliminating cab and bus drivers. Farms are being mechanized to eliminate labor in the fields. Fast-food outlets are being mechanized with self-serve kiosks and mechanized food preparation. Construction has become more mechanized. It is no longer viable to just pound nails without an educated understanding of constantly upgraded life and safety codes being applied to buildings. I can go on for pages on this.

So how can the United States be responsible to properly train and educate all the new immigrants in the new technologies when we cannot do this for our existing population? The logistics of trying to accomplish this are mind-boggling.

I am all for compassion. Compassion without a full understanding of sustainability, however, is pure ignorance.