90 percent secure border not enough

Many years ago, I visited a hog farm in East Germany. The director extolled worker benefits including meals, uniforms, rides to work and cottages near Berlin for vacations. It sounded like paradise until the U.S. ag attaché whispered, “Palmer, remember the wall is not to keep people out (of East Germany).”

The purposes of the East German wall and our fence are very different. If you tried to cross the German wall (it was not just in Berlin), either way you would be faced with the dangers mentioned by Jacqueline R. Smetak (“Fence similar to Berlin Wall,” June 21 letter).

Please name a country besides America that does not control its borders. Or do Democrats want open borders? I do not support the proposed amnesty until our border is secure, and 90 percent is not secure. No one has proposed a “closed border with no possibility of crossing.” I support legal immigration, although I'm not sure it need include ski instructors for Colorado or be more than 1,100 pages.

Shouldn't Mexico assist in border control including movement of people, drugs and weapons?

Palmer Holden

Iowa City