From Our Readers

The removal of billions of dollars from local and state economies by illegal immigrants has a staggering negative employment and business impact on U.S. communities. Behaving more like traitors than one could imagine, Western Union, Citibank, Wells Fargo et al. pander to illegal aliens, seeming to overlook the criminality at its core. Banks and financial institutions need to be investigated, prosecuted and heavily fined, and their corporate bosses should do jail time. DELL ERICKSON ASSET MANAGER Minneapolis, Minn.

Your comprehensive report on the money that foreign workers send home [TIME Global Business, July] highlighted the high profits that Western Union makes from processing these remittances, but the story could just as well have focused on the important role that remittances play in supporting many developing countries. Remittances sent home by waiters, janitors and nannies working in the U.S. or Europe account for more than 10% of the gross domestic product in many developing countries--exceeding their revenue from foreign aid and loans from development institutions such as the World Bank. KENNETH BACON PRESIDENT Refugees International Washington