The article “Cultural, legal shifts nudging immigrants in California out of the shadows” blurs the distinction between a legal immigrant and an individual illegally in the United States. Immigrants respect and follow the law, and those who enter the country illegally are lawbreakers.

If a person is fearful while living in a country illegally that is actually a logical and a reasonable reaction.

When a person enters and resides legally in the U.S., the status is clear and the person is protected under the law.

In the article, nonprofit groups and faith-based organizations promote breaking federal immigration laws in the year 2015 rather than encourage legal entry and residency in the U.S. Sadly, these same entities rake in money because of their status as nonprofit and faith-based organizations. Via grants and federal programs, they acquire funding by supporting those illegally in the U.S. In other words, they are making money as they encourage federal law-breaking.

The public message to the world should resoundingly proclaim — come to this country legally.

And diverse communities do support legal immigration. As a matter of fact, the U.S. should be applauded on the world stage for its generous immigration policies of admitting more than 1 million legal immigrants ever year. This great nation has the most generous and comprehensive immigration policy on the globe. The U.S., and the American people, should be thanked for this generosity.

In addition, rather than focus on entering and residing illegally in the U.S., shouldn’t the people of the world stand up and fight for change in their home countries? In general, people love and want to remain in their home country.

In the same vein, the representatives of this nation should focus first and foremost on their own U.S. citizens. These days, millions of U.S. citizens are out of work. Homelessness is burgeoning. Veterans live in poverty. More than 400,000 U.S. children are in the foster-care system. The elderly and disabled of America are in dire need of assistance.

The suffering U.S. citizens should be the focus of state legislators in Sacramento not legislation that undermines U.S. immigration laws.

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Robin Hvidston is executive director of We The People Rising: wethepeoplerising.wordpress.com