Allegiance of Refugees Should Be to U.S.

The strongly worded Commentary by Henry Le, “Power of the Vietnamese-American Vote” (Dec. 4), provides readers with mixed signals, unless there was some breakdown in the translation.

I agree with his zeal in urging voters to exercise their right to vote, but disagree totally with what he offers his countrymen as a reward. He wants Vietnamese-Americans to “. . . fight for those policies and laws that would benefit our people and motherland.” He further states: “The Vietnamese arriving in the U.S. since 1975 are all political refugees. . . .” Lastly, he wants to find and develop political candidates who will “. . . gain benefits for Vietnamese residents here and in our native land.”

Observation: There is not one single immigrant who had economic reasons to move here? It’s not enough that this country lost thousands of lives and spent billions of dollars, takes in more Vietnamese than any country in the world--but we now are expected to throw more money at the “motherland” too?

America’s wildly open-door policy has caused the Statue of Liberty’s torch to begin flickering; the California Golden Goose is egg-barren, and the resident taxpayers have had enough of our government’s spending spree.

I suggest new arrivals use more prudent rhetoric in their demands of the very country in which they have now pitched their tent. America is not a training camp for jet-hopping entrepreneurs--it is my motherland--and I’m here (not somewhere else) doing my best to help her. A person (or a people) cannot wave two flags. Select one and hold it firmly with both hands. I have mine.

MAX ST. YVES, Newport Beach