Letter to the editor: Those who reject illegal immigrants rally to study how much illegal immigrants cost. Scholars, reporters and interest groups have studied the costs and contributions of undocumented workers extensively. However, we have yet to enact immigration reform in the United States. To stop illegal immigration we must understand the monetary, social and human cost of the solution. How much are the direct and indirect costs to remove or deport 12 million people living in the United States? What are the costs of providing a path to legal status, the costs of a guest worker program, the costs of local immigration enforcement, and/or the costs to the local economy and to employers that rely on these workers? These are some alternatives to illegal immigration, good or bad, that need to be satisfied and studied. However, some Winston Salem commissioners desire to "study" the cost of "illegal." The final dollar number is not going to solve the problem and will produce other irrepressible problems. The monetary cost that they are seeking is not as extraordinary as the cost of a divided community. Focus on the solution, not on your need to justify your extreme dislike of those you presume are "illegal" people.

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Dr. H. Nolo Martinez
UNCG Center for New North Carolinians