Letters to the editor

Protect the innocent, confront the lawless There's been a lot of public defense lately for the people in this country illegally. I understand the compassion — but we must also be clear-eyed about the law. It is against the law to enter the United States illegally. Under federal law, entering without inspection is a criminal offense. Reentering after deportation is a felony. These are not political opinions. They are federal laws passed by Congress — and they should be enforced. That's why I wrote my original letter. Not to target immigrants, but to defend the men and women of law enforcement who are being violently attacked — not by outsiders, but by our own citizens. ICE agents and police are doing their jobs. They are enforcing the law. When American citizens respond by burning police cars, hurling explosives, or obstructing lawful arrests, that is criminal behavior — plain and simple. Yes, the Constitution uses the word "person" and not "citizen" in the 5th and 14th Amendments. That means everyone on U.S. soil, even non-citizens, has the right to due process and equal protection under the law. But due process means a chance to go before a judge — not a free pass to ignore the law, skip court dates, or resist arrest. The line must be drawn: protect the innocent, yes — but not the violent. Not those who exploit our system, endanger our officers, or openly defy the rule of law. If we cannot agree no that, then we have a much bigger problem than immigration. Robert Eisel Findlay Response to rebuttal on 'No Kings' Craig Nichols (LTE 6/20) didn't agree with my letter (6/17) regarding Findlay's "No Kings" protest. Instead of answering my questions about Trump's behavior, he deflected and brought up the redundant discussion about Biden's mental acuity. Biden bounced back from a disastrous debate and continued a grueling campaign schedule and was always in charge despite his decision to step away in favor of Kamala. Trump has implied that Musk helped rig the race in Pennsylvania, stating that Musk had an understanding of the voting machines "better than anybody and we ended up winning Pennsylvania in a landslide." Democrats conceded, played by the rules and today's nightmare Trump scenario has begun. Nichols' last line is this: "The left only embraces laws and rules they feel are 'morally' correct." Yes, Democrats want morality and decency back into society. We don't want a president who's only aim is to enrich himself, his family and to gift tax breaks to his billionaire buddies by cutting Medicaid, etc., and increasing taxes on the poor. Surprisingly, so-called Christians think Trump is angelic and agree with his racist and bigoted rhetoric (classic Hypocrisy 101). Nichols complains about district court judges not rubber stamping Trump's current agenda. A significant number of Republican-appointed district court judges have ruled against Trump in various cases. Nichols claims that Biden could have "codified any immigration legislation" since majorities were held in both houses. This is not accurate. There was a 50/50 split in the Senate: 50 GOP; 48 Dems; 2 Independents. A major immigration bill failed to advance in the Senate in February 2024 due to Republican opposition. With Trump's current disapproval rating at record highs, Democrats' chances of winning in the midterms look promising. I doubt that Democrats would want to waste time starting impeachment against Trump after he is already out of office. Democrats actually want to accomplish something while in office. Trump has spent 25% of his time in office playing golf at taxpayer expense. Biden enacted numerous significant bills, including the Inflation Reduction Act, American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, etc. No comparison to Trump's accomplishments. All Trump does is wrangle up legal immigrants so Steven Miller can meet his quota of 3,000 ICE arrests per day. Since he can't find enough "illegal" criminals to deport, he preys on green card holders, international students, farm workers, day laborers, hospitality workers, etc. And what happened to ending the Ukraine war in his first 24 hours and cutting egg and gas prices? Now he has taken the U.S. into Israel's war against Iran! Enough is enough! NO KINGS! Salena Maazaoui Findlay