Letters

We live on a beautiful island. We are not a border state. Yet our current congressman, Nick LaLota, spends more time on border issues than anything else.

Here on Long Island, rising sea levels brought on by climate change is an important immediate and long-term issue for our coastal communities. Yet LaLota is pretty much silent on climate change. Perhaps he believes the far-right claims that climate change doesn’t exist, and/or that human behavior has nothing to do with it, nor can we do anything about it.

Of course, the scientific community has concluded that man’s utilization of fossil fuels is a significant factor that is directly responsible for climate change and rising sea levels. Just look at the flooding problems in Miami, Florida. Yet, Ron DeSantis and MAGA adherents refuse to address the root causes of climate change. Donald Trump promises to drill, drill, drill with dictatorial decrees on day one if he is elected.

Again, nothing from LaLota on these issues that directly affect Long Island. Instead, he chooses to focus on border state issues.

Clearly, immigration is an important national issue. Yet LaLota did not support Senator Jim Lankford’s (a Conservative Republican) bipartisan immigration legislation. LaLota said it was too weak. Most experts said it was the strongest immigration legislation ever put forth. LaLota doesn’t seem to know that virtually all meaningful legislation requires compromise by all parties.

Well, after all, LaLota is a rookie congressman, and maybe he doesn’t understand how to get meaningful legislation passed in Congress. Or, perhaps, he is just following Trump and his MAGA counterparts who aren’t interested in solving problems. They just want wedge issues to run on.

As to the immigrants here on eastern Long Island, I have seen up close the hard work of so many migrant landscapers. They are very nice, friendly people, and they do a good job. I have also seen them attending Sunday Mass at Catholic churches. They come dressed in their Sunday best clothing with their children.

Like the Irish and Italian immigrants before them, they are family-oriented and “old-fashioned,” in a good way. We need common-sense immigration reform for these hard-working members of our communities. We don’t need to vilify these people as rapists and murderers, a la Trump.

We need a congressman who will implement solutions to the issues that are important to Long Islanders. LaLota has, for the most part, ignored us and focused on other things. There are so many other important issues. I have only touched on a few in this brief letter.

I look forward to John Avlon shining a bright light on the differences between him and LaLota. The November elections are right around the corner.

Dick Sheehan

Manorville