This is in response to Xavier Santos's letter, "American history illustrates importance of immigrants," April 5. I'd like to start by saying I am first-generation American. My mother is from Cuba and my father is from England, and they both arrived in the 1970s.

The difference between my parents and the immigrants we are discussing today is not the color of their skin. The difference is the legality of the immigrants. My parents and Santos's grandparents are legal immigrants. The problem is the immigrants in question are illegal immigrants. They must respect our laws and wait in line like everyone else. I am sure that 99 percent of the 11 million purported illegal immigrants in the U.S. are nice people.

Unfortunately, there are those who come to this country to engage in crime and there are those who come into this country to commit acts of terrorism. I am not saying it is Mexicans who are committing these acts, but when you have a border that is as unguarded as ours, people of other nationalities can come into the country. If someone wants to come into this country to get a job, they can also come into this country to cause harm.