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No, Stefanik is wrong

To the editor:

In Mr. Ward’s (March 25) letter “Read the bill; Stefanik is right,” he was angry that I “besmirched” Rep. Stefanik and he attacked me personally. Maybe it made him feel better to do that. But it doesn’t change the facts that support my criticism of Rep. Stefanik when I wrote “Being a stickler for truth.”

Despite his uncalled-for accusations, I had read the entire text of the Dream Act on the www.gov website. Because I have a MS from Syracuse University as a reading specialist, I evidently understood that document better than he did. Neither one of his two chosen quotes from the bill managed to provide proof that Rep. Stefanik was right to claim that the bill granted “mass amnesty.”

For instance, Mr. Ward’s first quote stated that “the Secretary may waive” a listed citizenship requirement “for humanitarian purposes” or “in the public interest.” His second quote stated that “allegations of gang membership” may not be used against someone (whereas actual participation in gang-related criminal offenses will disqualify them). By quoting from the bill, Mr. Ward ended up proving that Stefanik is wrong about the threat of unscreened undesirables easily becoming citizens.

Nice try by Mr. Ward. But as he himself pointed out, the Dream Act details many complex factors that are weighed before legalization is granted. To those of us in the know, Rep. Stefanik doesn’t get away with her immigration fear-mongering hype about “mass amnesty.”

Martha Hodges

Massena

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