Editorials / Opinion

Canadian-American couple are the least of our concern

There appears to be a distinct odor of hypocrisy stagnating over our northern border, [“Love in a no man’s land,” page one, Sept. 13]. Our Canadian neighbors are steadfast in maintaining their high moral standards and public safety by keeping David Williams and his 6-year-old DUI rap from sullying their culture by denying him permission to visit his Canadian wife, Janane Ardiel. Yet they welcomed with open arms thousands of Americans who violated U.S. law by evading the draft. Also, they have repeatedly stalled on extraditing convicted American criminals who fled north because they objected to the potential sentences they would face if returned to the U.S.

Our own immigration folk are protecting us from any possible threat posed by Ardiel by denying her even temporary visits to her husband. I for one sure wish they would show the same diligence in exporting the 12 million, or is it 20 million (even the government doesn’t know for sure) undocumented immigrants currently within our borders. They might start with those who comprise 35 percent of the federal prison population. But until that happens, I will sleep more soundly with the knowledge our government has managed to keep at least one “alien” from violating our sovereignty.

— Lee Fowble, Edmonds