Regarding Larry Carrier’s anti-immigrant letter (April 27), I have to say first that many people don’t consider Rush Limbaugh a reliable source of information.

Carrier said, “I am fed up with people who will not work and then take my tax dollars to live a life free of the stress from everyday burdens of supporting themselves.” An Associated Press article points out that many illegal immigrants have jobs in the U.S. through the underground job market even before they cross the border.

During the past two years, many illegal immigrants left the U.S. because of a lack of jobs during the recession and we are now at net zero — as many people leaving as coming in.

Immigrants have always come here to improve their lives by getting decent jobs. The truth is that illegal immigrants can’t legally get welfare. No cash aid, no TANF, no Medicaid. They can’t get federal housing, either. It is just wrong to say they get lots of welfare money.

General Electric made $81 billion in profits over the past five years, paid no taxes and received $3 billion in tax rebates. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Verizon, Honeywell, Merck, Boeing and Microsoft use offshore tax havens to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. So do very wealthy people. If everyone paid a fair share, it would lessen the burden on working Americans.

Instead of blaming immigrants for the nation’s problems, maybe we should try to change the main problem, the unfair tax system.

Ellen Field, New Gloucester