Shary Nassimi’s Public Forum editorial was excellent. He can speak from a position of authority as an immigrant who came to the United States and put his shoulder to the wheel and by applying hard work, smarts and by learning English early he has lived the “American Dream.”
Since his arrival in 1977 from his native Iran, he has seen the tragic decline of our national cohesion as a result of the misguided tolerance for illegal immigration.
Mr. Nassimi is in a unique position, he is immune from the charges of racism and “nativism” leveled at many of those who speak out on this critical erosion of one of the pillars of our American system: the Rule of Law. Mr. Nassimi has brought the light of truth to this very critical subject. I went to Disneyland last week: Disneyland is now bilingual. When you get on the Pirates of the Caribbean: the announcements are in English and Spanish. Why Spanish? Because that represents the large volume of people who have come to the United States legally and illegally who simply have not bothered to learn our language.
It is in every immigrant’s best interest, as Mr. Nassimi has shown, to learn English as the first step in accessing the American Dream.
Thank you, Mr. Nassimi, for your eloquent words and your success. You are a responsible civic-minded American citizen for addressing this issue head-on.
Rick Mullen