Illegal Labor

* R: “INS’ Fight on Illegal Labor Is Big Jolt to Yakima Valley,” Feb. 26: Who said illegal aliens are a drain on our economy? The employers who had to fire these 1,700 employees paid unemployment benefit payments to the state of Washington and to the federal government. They also contributed an equal amount of Social Security and medical benefit payments, matching what was taken out of the employee’s pay. Yet these same employees, because they are undocumented, cannot collect the benefits of any of these funds. It seems to me that the employer should have the money refunded from the unemployment fund or that the terminated employees should be eligible to draw from the fund.

It just doesn’t seem equitable that governments should enjoy a windfall of money by insisting on firing the workers. Not only are individual rights being infringed, the denial of benefits makes these taxes a very profitable and apparently legal extortion program.

CHRISTINE BREAN

South Gate