I read the Sept. 2 letter to the editor entitled “Settlers, not immigrants, built country” with considerable dismay. First, the writer extols the settlers to the U.S., as if they came to an uninhabited country. He then goes on to reference the “now” immigrants with the absurd generalization that “they come here hating this country.” I cannot go about my day without offering a counterpoint.

I have been working with immigrants every day since 1991, when I started my first job as an administrative assistant with the International Legal Studies Program at The American University. From there, I went to law school in Minnesota, where I was an international student advisor and the student director of the asylum law clinic. From there, I went to work as an immigration attorney, and since 1998 I have been a solo practitioner, first in the DC area, then in Tennessee, and now in Fredonia. I have thus been working with immigrants for 34 years. That adds up to 12,410 days, during which time I have probably communicated with at least one immigrant every single day, including weekends. I have worked with students, professionals, skilled and unskilled workers, asylum seekers and diversity lottery winners. I have represented doctors, nurses, teachers, construction workers, software engineers and company founders. I have met beautiful people, “normal” people and a few extremely annoying people. I would like to provide some verifiable statistics about immigrants from the American Immigration Council: 14.3 percent of the US population are immigrants; immigrants paid $652B in taxes in 2023; nearly half of Fortune 500 companies in 2025 were founded by immigrants or their children; immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, have lower rates of felony arrests than US-born individuals; undocumented immigrants are 33% less likely to be incarcerated than US-born individuals; undocumented immigrants are not eligible for most public benefits, and even legal immigrants are limited in what benefits they can receive.

I have never dreaded going to work one day in the past 34 years. It has been my honor and my privilege to work with immigrants, documented and undocumented. Some of the most beautiful souls I have ever met are indigenous asylum-seekers from Guatemala, who fled persecution with their children in tow and were detained at the Southern border in 2014. If you met one of those sweet little 2014 arrivals today, you would not even know that child was born in another country. Based on my personal interactions with over 10,000 immigrants, I believe no one loves this country more than an immigrant. Every immigrant I have ever met, bar none, is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to live and study and work in this country. I have personally witnessed and experienced the countless contributions of immigrants to this country, and that has not changed one iota over the past 34 years. My favorite event each year is an award ceremony where our national immigration organization honors select immigrants for their extraordinary achievements and contributions to our country.

My father-in-law is an immigrant from holocaust Germany. My brother-in-law is an immigrant from Iran. My first husband is an immigrant from Uruguay. It boggles my mind that someone can cast aspersions on all immigrants, seemingly without knowing one of them.

Are there some immigrants who commit crimes? Yes. There are also some young white men who commit crimes, but no one is writing to the paper stating that all young white men hate our country.

Immigrants, documented or undocumented, are simply human beings who, like all people, love their children and would do anything for them, including making incredible sacrifices and enduring unspeakable hardships.

Please note that my opinions about immigrants are based on my own personal experiences and interactions. I believe “our problem today” is that too many people are basing their opinions on political propaganda rather than actual experience.

Sheila Starkey Hahn is a Fredonia resident and adds that “these are my personal opinions, and do not reflect the opinion of any group of which I am a member.”