Dear Editor:

When we are born our vision and understanding is less than that of newly arrived immigrants. We barely know that we are alive, but we rely on the joy, warmth and comfort of our smiling parents, grandparents, and often, aunts and uncles. Like the immigrant, we are assimilating into the culture of our family. “One in seven U.S. residents is foreign born.” Young immigrants find friends in school to play with and to learn something about the culture and language. Their parents may have a more difficult time learning the language, but technology today helps them to identify an English word by using their native language as the definer.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my husband was the tenth generation grandchild of the brave Quaker, Mary Dyer, whose statue stands outside of Boston’s State House. Mary was murdered because of her Quaker Christian beliefs, a primary reason why religious rights were incorporated in our Constitution. Oddly enough, I was raised a Quaker in Whittier, California.

I was well into high school before I learned about my immigrant grandparents and their journey by boat to America. Grandma had six brothers and everyone worked hard in farming their country lands. Somehow Grandma became the boss of the six brothers and remained the boss of her family, including Grandpa. Grandpa immediately got a job on building our railroad infrastructure, from which Grandma used free tickets to visit her 20 or more grandchildren.

Bullies against immigrants during my life have mostly been non-immigrant gang members. Immigrants came to work, earn a living and be safe from the bullies in their birth countries. When we honored our Constitution, these immigrants were routinely welcomed and highly needed for our economic growth and success. It is odd when an immigrant child badmouths other immigrants. It is odd when they marry non-citizens, have immigrant children and continue to claim all immigrants are gang members.

All children are God’s creation, and to encourage hate of immigrants is a conspiracy to harm them against God’s commandments and our laws. I love my grandparents, our Constitution, refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants seeking safety and love for their families.

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb