I am a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. I am writing to express my outrage at President Donald Trump’s focus on mass deportations of immigrants, closing of the southern border and use of military airplanes to deport immigrants.
I have worked with immigrants for about 18 years. The people I have met in detention centers and shelters have come to the United States for many reasons, none of which is to commit crimes. They come because they are fleeing violence, sometimes death threats; they are unable to find employment; and they are suffering the effects of climate change. Many immigrants are contributing to our country by taking jobs that U.S. citizens don’t want. If they are deported, our economy will suffer.
We are a country settled by immigrants. All of us are descendants of immigrants, except for Native Americans.
I lived in El Paso, Texas, for seven years and have made many visits to the border on the U.S. and Mexican sides. Trump’s decision to close the southern border leaves people who have legitimate reasons to seek asylum in the U.S. literally out in the cold. I have seen families sleeping outside in makeshift tents or on the ground.
Using military planes, which could hold tons of cargo, for exporting immigrants is unconscionable — the expense alone should make that untenable.
Those who have birthright citizenship, those brought here as children and those who have legally applied for asylum are frightened.
We do need just regulation of our borders, but we need to allow a path for vulnerable refugees to enter.
— Sister Rita Specht, RSM, Chicago
Demand to be humane
We should all be concerned about the mass deportations that are occurring in Chicago and across the country. We are told that the goal is to deport immigrants who have committed criminal acts. This is a valid objective. But it seems unlikely that all the hundreds already deported were criminals.
An accurate target operation requires an assessment of each immigrant’s case, which I doubt the government has had time to do. I have to wonder how many of those rounded up have not committed any crimes and how many had started the process of becoming legal residents. It doesn’t take much to imagine that under a legal system that has been overwhelmed, many are still waiting for a decision on their cases.
There also appears to be little concern about relocation. Most of the recent immigrants in Chicago are not Colombian, yet Colombia is where they may be transported. Humane treatment requires that we use a better goal than “let’s just get them out of here.” We need to consider what happens to them once they leave our country. Like it or not, since we deported them, we are responsible.
But mostly, we are called to be humane and compassionate. Our long history of immigration (a large majority of us are immigrants) demands no less.
Think of the mass roundups, deportations and incarcerations that have occurred down through history all over the world. Whenever people are herded anywhere, it implies that they are being seen as less than human and not deserving of compassion. You don’t have to be a citizen of the country to deserve to be treated as a human being.
How we handle this reflects who we are as a people.
— Icy Cade-Bell, Tinley Park
Governor, mayor no-shows
Regarding the front-page article in the Jan. 27 edition “‘We are terrified’: ICE begins long-promised immigration blitz in Chicago”: Where was Gov. JB Pritzker? As far back as November, Pritzker was posturing, proclaiming and promising that to get to the people of Illinois, the federal government would have to “come through me.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has repeatedly said he will defend immigrants against deportation orders.
The federal government is here, but where are the governor and mayor to keep true to their words?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Drug Enforcement Administration agents are doing what they said they would do, “conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous (criminals) out of our communities.” They are out on the streets of our communities arresting Illinois residents.
Pritzker and Johnson are cut from the same cloth as California Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Always looking for a camera. Always wanting to tell people to trust them. Always failing to act in order to keep their promises, while those who believed the words pay the price.
— Charles Hutchinson, Wilmette
Pritzker taking a gamble
It is becoming increasingly clear that Gov. JB Pritzker is positioning himself for a presidential run in 2028. His recent efforts to generate national publicity — particularly by opposing the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally — are a clear attempt to court progressive voters and boost his national profile. However, in doing so, he is failing to recognize a political reality that could cost him dearly: Many voters do not support his stance.
Polling shows that a majority of Americans favor stronger immigration enforcement. Pritzker’s decision to take the opposite position may win him praise in certain political circles, but it puts him at odds with the rest of the electorate. If he continues down this path, he risks alienating voters in key swing states and making himself unelectable at the national level.
While immigration is a complex issue, leadership requires listening to the will of the people — not just playing to the loudest voices in a party’s base.
If Pritzker is serious about his presidential ambitions, he would be wise to reconsider his approach before it’s too late.
— Al Zvinakis, Lemont
Where are lower prices?
Donald Trump assured voters he’d lower prices, protect the Constitution and make us safe. Instead, already in his first days as president, he’s done just the opposite.
Lower prices? Nope. Thanks to stubborn insistence on tariffs, we can anticipate higher prices on produce, gas and cars from Mexico and Canada. Then we can expect even higher prices from Trump’s needless and cruel mass deportations.
Uphold the Constitution? (Which he swore he’d do under oath on Inauguration Day.) Nope. He is now making an unprecedented move to disregard the 14th Amendment. Instead of defending the Constitution, he’s actively attempting to dismantle it.
Making us safer? No, on many fronts. Trump’s false claims about other countries emptying their jails of violent criminals to prey on Americans have been fact-checked and denied. Amazingly, it’s Trump who has emptied prison cells of violent criminals by pardoning 1,500 Jan. 6 offenders. Pardoning violent felons who harmed police officers sends a dangerous message: Commit crimes for Trump, and there will be no consequences. Are we safer now with many of these prisoners out?
We’re also less safe thanks to Trump’s reckless efforts to weaken NATO and walk away from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization. Trump’s views weaken our healing relationships with our allies, make us more vulnerable to increasing climate change disasters and weaken our defenses against epidemics, even as the bird flu is mutating and may well be facing us soon.
So no, prices aren’t lower, the Constitution is being ignored and we’re definitely more vulnerable, not safer. It’s time we face reality and demand our president respect his oath and begin working toward his promises, not against them and us.
— Joan Davis, Huntley
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