Usually, when I read Mike Reagan’s column, I’m reminded the apple, like a thick brick, doesn’t fall too far from the tree. However, in his July 8 epistle on immigration told mostly in his father’s words, Mikey showed the light of Lady Liberty’s torch.

According to Reagan the younger, the Great Communicator said things like, “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American,” and, “If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.”

As if to refute Trump’s charge the “Squad” (Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley) hated America, Mike quoted his father as saying, “Those who became American citizens love this country even more.”

I wish the son would broadcast the father’s words into two giant woofer speakers on each side of Trump’s ears. Message: Republicans don’t hafta be cruel.

Fred Malo Jr.
Carbondale