An open letter to San Juan Island Library District:

On page 3B of The Journal of May 21, Beth Helstein wrote a book review about a diary. She inserts her personal view that the Border Patrol checkpoints are racist in nature.

As a member of the Library District Long Range Planning Committee last year, I made a strong point that the tax-paid library district is not to serve the social and political agendas of library employees, but to provide library services for the community. The article identifies Ms. Helstein as a representative of the library in the article. Do her views express those of the library board? If not, a written denial in The Journal by the library board is appropriate.

Once again, there is journalistic and intellectual dishonesty by writers at The Journal. The law regarding illegal aliens is silent and blind with relation to race, gender, age, national origin, etc. If a person is an illegal alien, none of those applies.

Ms. Helstein not so adroitly equates enforcement of laws against illegal aliens to racism.

The Wikipedia definition says, “Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country.” Under this definition, an illegal immigrant is a foreigner who either has illegally crossed an international political border, be it by land, water, or air, or a foreigner who has entered a country legally but then overstays his/her visa.

Funny thing. No mention of race.

Dennis R. Hazelton
Friday Harbor
— Hazelton is director of the U.S. Customs office in Friday Harbor