I am the granddaughter of immigrants, the daughter of an immigrant and the wife of an immigrant. These wonderful people came to this country to provide a better life for themselves and their children. They followed the immigration laws in effect at the time, securing the proper paperwork necessary to come to America.
Once they came to America, they learned English, either at night school or from their children, who learned English in school. They never demanded the government provide forms in Slovak, Bulgarian or Italian.
My husband was 12 when he came to this country. The nuns at Holy Angels School in Hays placed him in the first grade to learn English. The school did not provide an Italian language teacher; teachers spoke English and he learned.
They all proudly became American citizens, again, obeying the laws and procedures of this country.
I consider it a slap in the face to these wonderful people every time I'm asked to "press 1 for English." To allow illegal immigrants -- lawbreakers -- the privilege of attaining citizenship just because they're here is to totally dishonor my grandparents, my father and my husband and his family.
Nancy Jo LausoBaldwin
