Letter: Take care of your own first

I read the stories regarding President Joe Biden’s views that children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border should be compensated to the tune of $450,000 to each person affected, though that figure has “since changed.”

I grew up in the ’50s and was taught that you always take care of your own first. It made sense then; it makes sense now. Keeping that in mind, I did some research, and this is what I found.

As of 2019, 2.19 million people are incarcerated in U.S. prisons, with more than 200,000 serving life sentences. In 2020, 61,417 people older than 55 were serving life sentences.

Looking at the numbers alone, how many children have been separated from their parents, and why? They’re separated because a parent or parents broke the law. This is the same reason that children at the U.S.-Mexico border were separated from their parents. Their parents tried to enter our country illegally, meaning they broke our laws.

Before Biden starts giving away astronomical amounts of money to the children of illegal immigrants, let’s start with the children whose parents were born and raised here, who are here legally. I’m sure they’d appreciate having several hundred thousand dollars to compensate them for the pain and suffering they’ve endured due to the separation from their loved ones, or is their pain less than that of the children of people trying to enter our country illegally?

Just a thought.