I am very disappointed by the recent newspaper editorial coverage about the border crisis.

The Aug. 7 editorial, “Border crisis doesn’t ease GOP stance in House,” states that the House could help the situation by supporting funding bills like the Senate’s and implied that supporting last year’s “comprehensive” bill would more thoroughly deal with the problem.

As the Senate bill tries to fund the current situation while doing nothing to remove the magnets for crossing illegally, it could improve the situation only if one’s interest is in facilitating more illegal immigration.

As for last year’s “comprehensive” legislation, this bill would legalize illegal aliens in the near term, and forgive such ancillary crimes as identity theft, while putting off enforcement requirements for years. This only would cause more people to come illegally.

John Crisp’s column, “Immigration protests short on compassion,” on Aug. 3 criticizes people for protesting our country being flooded with migrants, instead of focusing on inequality, the cost of higher education and our sky-high rates of incarceration. Apparently, it does not occur to him that letting in large numbers of the unskilled and indigent might have something to do with these things.

Moreover, Crisp never considers that being too welcoming to those who cross illegally will encourage more to do so, which will lead to more kids dying in the desert trying to get here. And of course, Barack Obama’s policies such as the Family Interest Directive, which protects those who accompany children from even being detained, create incentives for adult border crossers to take kids on the dangerous journey.

Compassion is good, but it needs to be based on a rational analysis of the facts, not mere sentimentality.

Michael J. Jose

Augusta