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# ‘Illegals’ hurt the homeless
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/illegals-hurt-the-homeless-editor/
- Published: 2002-10-25T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:48:59.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

*By Thom Trybus Santa Monica*

Following the letters and articles which have been appearing in your newspaper, I again feel it an obligation on my part to send you comment on certain issues from the homeless perspective. First of all, few if any of us out here want to be in the situation we are in. We were not born into this lifestyle, we don’t enjoy it as some narrow-minded individuals seem to perceive and we take justified offense to those who are so calloused as to openly and flagrantly look down their lofty noses at others equal in citizenship though less fortunate than themselves.

They are tripping over themselves in their exploiting, supporting and assisting of noncitizens, many of which are clearly illegals, not in any way worthy of even being in this country, let alone stealing desperately needed jobs and affordable housing from us. Schools, boards of education, etc., have traditionally mismanaged huge amounts of so-called “desperately needed” funding, while the monies made available to them are shifted once obtained to the coffers of the California Teachers Association pension and retirement funds to the tune of, some say, over a $100 billion.

It’s enough to bail the entire state out of debt. Governor Gray Davis recently cut school funding he earlier unnecessarily made available and shifted it instead to an undeserving lot to attempt to gain more votes. He made $200 million of hard-earned citizen/taxpayer’s monies available to build housing for illegal migrant farm and other agricultural workers.

And simply put, it is unfair to us citizens who have been deprived of these resources, made homeless because of these factors and others, so that the wealthy can have a permanent underclass of a workforce.

I say the employers or “friends of employment” ought to invite the INS to review all of their employment records and devise a way to do thorough background checks on all employees, regardless of length of time in service. Maybe that would open up a few jobs for homeless citizens, many of whom are veterans, and lend a little fairness to the issues.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102502.pdf?ref=smdp.com)