Readers write

Ga. House should hold off on voting changes

Regarding “Georgia House considers scrapping touchscreen voting by this year’s midterms,” AJC, Feb. 3, there is an easy solution: Pass a bill to move the deadline out.

Unfortunately, House Republicans see that as a nuclear option, fearing backlash from MAGA. But given that the House had over a year to deal with the upcoming July deadline to remove bar codes from ballots and did nothing to accomplish that, they should take their medicine and accept the nuclear option.

The option to move the date out would be the best thing for voters, who are invoked in all the rhetoric but not being considered in the half-baked, chaotic solutions the Blue Ribbon Commission put forward to avoid pushing out the deadline.

MAGA’s grip on Georgia House Republicans could now cause them to implement terrible “solutions.” We voters need to attend meetings of the House Governmental Affairs Committee and be a voice for sanely administered elections. House Republicans, sometimes you have to just take the sour medicine.

BETSY SHACKELFORD, DECATUR

Welcome back to Atlanta!

I read the column written by Senior Food Editor Monti Carlo (“The AJC saved my mother’s restaurant — and brought me home,” Jan. 31) regarding her mother’s restaurant and her return to Atlanta. It was very uplifting and full of excitement. She will be a tremendous asset to y’all and a blessing to everyone lucky enough to read her reports.

To Ms. Carlo: You will be wonderful. Thanks for making me excited to read and learn about the fantastic locations for dining!

GROVER HARRELL, BRUNSWICK

Let Congress solve immigration problems

With nonstop news from TV, cable, social media and print, it is unbelievable that so many Americans still misunderstand what is happening with immigration and ICE enforcement.

The facts are clear — if people are willing to look beyond a single source.

About 14 million immigrants live in the U.S. without authorization, most arriving over the past 35 years. They are hard-working members of their communities. Many have served in the military. They pay roughly nearly $97 billion a year in taxes and receive no Social Security or Medicare benefits, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Deporting even 1 million people would take years and cost billions. Deporting everyone would take 25-30 years and trillions of dollars, pushing the economy toward recession as essential jobs go unfilled or labor costs drive businesses under.

Six administrations — three Republican and three Democratic — have failed to solve this complex problem. In 2024, a bipartisan immigration bill finally offered a reasonable path forward, addressing both current residents and future border control. It was blocked when Donald Trump urged Republicans to kill it for campaign purposes.