I was very dismayed to have a racist, xenophobic petition — Initiative 1122 — fall out of my Beachcomber this morning. I-1122 blames those who are here and undocumented as stealing our jobs. It is really time we stop blaming immigrants for the problems of our country.  

These immigrants had nothing to do with United States’ corporations moving jobs overseas and shutting down local factories, call centers and Internet services. Americans are unemployed because of corporate greed.   

These immigrants had nothing to do with the predatory loans that banks made, which were also driven by greed. Many people are now homeless or in the process of foreclosure.  

These immigrants had nothing to do with our huge deficit. These same corporations who moved jobs overseas are not paying taxes on their profits made in these foreign countries. Now they are pushing our government for a second tax amnesty to bring this money home at a 5 percent tax rate. Being at war for 10 years also has a huge impact on the deficit.

We need to stop looking for a scapegoat for our problems of unemployment, homelessness and a large deficit. It is time we look at ourselves and ask, “How did we let this happen?”

At the base of the Statue of Liberty, there is a quote by Emma Lazarus: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”  

The words do not distinguish how the huddled masses are to come to America; rather, it says that we’re a symbol of freedom that welcomes those in need.

If this is not true any longer, maybe we should return the Statue of Liberty to France.

— Hilary Emmer