Tucson Speaks Out: April 22

Read the Constitution

Several letters in today’s paper referenced Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s alleged crimes and gang affiliation. None of what these letters mentioned has any relevance at all. It does not matter what kind of person Garcia is or is not. It only matters that he was denied due process, period. “... nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America).” A similar requirement is also found in the 5th Amendment. The purpose of due process is to present concrete evidence of a crime. It appears that the letter writers, the Republican Party and other Trump sycophants are afraid to allow the process to go forward because it might not end the way they’d like. Please understand: If our government can deport someone without granting due process and their day in court, they can deport anyone, including American citizens.

Anne Lane

Northeast side

Response to Abrego Garcia letters

I usually consider myself capable of spotting propaganda. Usually (but not always) you can consider the source. For example, Fox is the only news (?) organization that has successfully won a court case protecting their right to print known falsehoods (lies!) and do so on a regular basis. But my early detection failed me as I read some of the recent letters defending the arrest and deportation of individuals without having been found guilty of anything. Where I was fooled however was in the iteration of the supposed issues thinking yes, can you believe we elected a man that has been found guilty of molesting (rape) and slandering her. Did we not elect a man found guilty of 34 counts of fraud? Guilty of have sex with two prostitutes (one while his wife was delivering a son to him?) Did we not elect a man who has consistently and openly violated the emoluments clause of the constitution? Then how astonished I was that the letter(s) were regarding someone not Trump.

Robert Cozad

Oro Valley

Stand up now for due process of law

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that “No person shall be denied life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The right to due process belongs to all people, not just citizens. Procedural due process requires the government to provide reasonable notice and opportunity for a judicial hearing before it deprives liberty. Substantive due process prohibits the government from acting arbitrarily, capriciously, or unfairly. Martin Niemoller’s poem explains why all of us must stand up now for the due process rights of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whether he is a gang member or not: “First they came for the Communists/ And I did not speak out/ Because I was not a Communist …./ Then they came for the Socialists/ And I did not speak out/ Because I was not a Socialist/…. Then they came for the Jews/ And I did not speak out/ Because I was not a Jew/ Then they came for me/ And there was no one left/ To speak out for me.”

Amelia Cramer

Downtown

Pima County Fair

This was my grandson’s first fair. From the rides to the games and animals he had had a smile the whole time. It’s been awhile since I’ve been and I admit there were things I was surprised to see. You can now get a haircut or a tattoo or a piercing! I overindulged in fried food from fish and chips to fried cheesecake. I had a great time. As we were walking along a lady called from a booth and asked if we were registered to vote, which was great. Getting people to register to vote is a very noble cause. However, after she asked me what party I was registered with she berated me and attempted to involve me in a debate. We saw another booth with a sign telling us they could let us know if we were going to heaven by answering two questions. Another booth tried to give us a free Bible. Keep politics and religion out of the fair but keep the deep-fried cheesecake!

Betty Finley

Northwest side

Do the due process

4/20/25: A swing and a miss, five times! The first strike admitted relying on Fox (Faux) News. Did the remaining four strikes rely on similar right biased sources?

Reading BBC, an affirmed neutral source, Garcia wasn’t convicted of crime. His wife dropped pursuing a restraining order when they began marital counseling. She has stated he is “a loving partner and father.”

The most relevant point is he was not afforded due process under the Fifth, Sixth, Fourteenth and, possibly, the Fourth amendments.

Methinks the Trump Administration did not follow the court’s decision because they expected they would not prevail in court. And Trump is playing to the crowd. Rights be damned.

Am I at risk for expressing what could be interpreted as subversive opinions? Search World Wars and the First Amendment.

James Abels

Midtown

As the worm turns

That RFK Jr. is going to “find” the cause for autism by September is BS. He “found” the cause years ago in a fraudulent clinical study that has long been discredited by legitimate scientific agencies. While I’m not a prophet, I already know what he will say in September.

I do believe his claim about a worm having feasted on his brain. His report of the worm’s death (possibly a suicide?) was never verified with an autopsy. IMHO, the worm survives and is heartily munching away on what little gray matter he has remaining.

Rick Cohn

West side

Fact checking on Kilmar Abrego Garcia

According to the fact checker website, Snopes, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife filed a temporary protective order against her husband in 2021 and later dropped the charges. In a recent statement, Garcia’s wife said that they had resolved the situation through counseling. It was noted that a protective order was not the same as a conviction of crime. Snopes also reported that the claim of Kilmar Abrego Garcia being a member of the MS-13 gang had been debunked. Sending Mr. Garcia, or anyone, to a prison in El Salvador without an opportunity to defend themself in court is wrong and unconstitutional. Left unchecked, any one of us could suffer a similar fate.

Donna Hill

SaddleBrooke

Ve Ri Tas — Truth

I just listened to analysis of Harvard’s stand against Trump. I learned that caving in only promotes spinelessness and pushback spawns resistance. That appeasing the king, any king, will never lead to less tyranny. That 4,400 donations equaling $1.1 million dollars to the wealthiest university in our country was never about the money but more about making 4,400 statements.

I say to the law firms that caved to Trump, when you buy that second house in the Hamptons, don’t have any mirrors installed.

I say to Trump supporters, do you really believe the 2020 election was stolen? That a “deep state” exists? That homosexuality threatens your lifestyle? That it’s okay to deport people, send them to a horrific prison in El Salvador, without due process?

Are these really your truths?

When your pack of truths gets too heavy, allow me to throw out another Latin word.

Resistentia — To stand against, resist.

Mark Silva

North side

Deported without due process

To those letter writers condemning Democrats for opposing deportation without due process: First, numerous courts have demanded ending the deportation of immigrants without due process and the Supreme Court (9-0) has ruled that the Trump Administration facilitate the return of Garcia. As for Garcia, if he is returned and found guilty of any of the criminal acts suggested by most Republicans, I will be totally in favor of his incarceration, but in the U.S. where said crimes were committed not El Salvador. As for calling Senator Van Hollen clueless, he went to El Salvador in response to the people who elected him since Garcia and his wife were residents of Maryland. Regarding protecting the rights of women murdered by illegals, of which there have been few, I couldn’t agree more. However, how about also addressing the rights of those men, women and children brutally murdered in Sandy Hook, Parkdale, Buffalo, Las Vegas etc.? Now, who is clueless?

Chuck Cabrera

Oro Valley

Is MAGA Tucson okay with?

Is MAGA okay with a 19-year-old US citizen from New Mexico, who got lost in Tucson, being detained for ten days by ICE because they did not believe that he was a U.S. citizen? Are they okay with Andry Jose Hernandez-Romero being sent to the EL Salvador gulag for wearing a religious tattoo of the Three Wise Man on his hands? Maybe they are okay with his deportation because he is not a straight, white, Christian male.

Is MAGA okay with a United States citizen and immigration attorney living in Tucson receiving orders to self-deport? Many other US citizens working with refugees or immigrants have received such notices. In my mind it is hard to believe that this was an accident. Deliberate targeting and intimidation. Is MAGA okay with the president disobeying Court orders and wanting to ship US citizens to foreign prisons? Will they say that will never happen here? That would be naive and delusional.

James Robinett

Southwest side

Danger in the bike lanes

As if dealing with the many bizarre practices of Tucson’s automobile drivers isn’t enough, the bike lanes are getting even more dangerous. Two days ago I clocked an electric bike in the bike lane doing 40 mph on First Ave.. Last night I passed TWO people on an electric scooter on First Ave. in the dark with no light. We have skateboarders, electric skateboards, electric scooters, casual bicyclers, serious cyclists and electric bicycles at varying speeds from 5-40mph sharing a 3’-wide bike lane with cars zooming by going 55-60mph in a 45mph zone.

As a grumpy old boomer, I value my life too much to ride my bike on Tucson’s main streets. The City of Tucson has regulations for bicycles in bike lanes (max 19mph) but nothing about these other devices. And, there seems to be no enforcement.

Bruce Hilpert

North side

(Un) due process

I’m befuddled. Why can the uninvited that illegally enter our sovereign country en masse without proper vetting demand individual American constitutional review to prevent their expeditious deportations? The door should swing both ways on the same hinges.

Maybe a Democrat can explain this to me.

Jeffrey McConnell

West side

Republicans own the problem

Not content to rest from their labors that looted Arizona Education of 3/4 of a Billion (with a “B”) and gifting it mostly to private schooling, for children of families who already proved they could afford the cost, our Legislature chose to make it a crime for local officials to do anything about the oversupply, or use, of guns.

Yes, folks, guns everywhere, no limits, no consequences for the consequences of too many guns — such as random, targeted or mass shootings. Thank you Republicans. You own the problem.

Ted Morrison

Midtown

We too can fight, fight, fight

The Sunday Star had one oblique reference to demonstrations against Trump and his policies. They mentioned that there were demonstrations Saturday April 19th “across the country”, without giving numbers; they said “thousands” demonstrated two weeks ago (likely millions). The Star didn’t address the local demonstration along 22nd St in Tucson. There were about 4,000 people from Country Club to Alvernon, on both sides of the street. I witnessed three episodes of opposition, but saw hundreds of cars beeping, waving, or giving thumbs up over the 90 minutes I was there. The energy was high, the signs unambiguous in opposition to the people, policies, and moral corruptness and stupidity of the Trump Administration. Did the event change policies? No — but it gave us all a sense of how many people oppose this utterly reprehensible Administration. We aren’t lone voices, we are many, and the Star should report it.

Norman Epstein

Midtown

It is what it is

In his recent column, Tim Steller, as usual, uses obfuscation to conceal the facts. He stated that “Rev. John Fife brought Salvadorans covertly into the United States.” What Fife actually did was to aid and abet the smuggling, transporting and concealment of people into the United States in violation of federal law, a felony offense.

Thomas Leupp

Northeast side

Praying or preying

No, J.D., you don’t sit knee to knee with the Vicar of Christ on Earth grinning unctuously and promise to pray for him meanwhile preying on “the least of these” in his flock.

In 2020 you wrote that you admired Catholic authority of Church teaching and scripture.

Well, here’s some scripture:

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself ... Leviticus 19:34

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1

And Church teaching:

Pope Francis held a mass for migrants, concluding, “may we all learn to love the other, the stranger, as ourselves.”

Does that sound like accusing legal migrants of eating pets as you did in the 2024 campaign?

Or cheerleading off-camera while Trump and Bukele lied in the Oval about illegally abducting Kilmar Obrego Garcia?

Why not try more praying and less preying?

Chuck Barrett

Midtown

Abrego Garcia

It seems that letter writer Mr. Johnson is okay with deporting individuals without due process. Abrego Garcia has never been convicted of any criminal offense, including gang membership in the US or in El Salvador. Just because a judge says something does not make it so. You cannot hold Mr. Garcia responsible for what other illegal immigrants have done. SCOTUS has ruled he should not have been deported and must be returned. I always thought that what the Supreme Court rules must be followed. Being part of the 14th Amendment means that due process is one of the rules that we live by. If Mr. Johnson is truly a law-abiding citizen, then I will assume he does believe in due process and the rulings of SCOTUS. I would hope he would not let his political persuasion cloud his thinking on the rule of law.

Neil Norton

Oro Valley

Power corrupts

President Trump’s actions are becoming worse. By now it should be clear that he is behaving every bit like a dictator. His path from elected president to authoritarian has been swift — less than three months. If he keeps up this pace, the United States that I’ve known for more than 80 years, will become unknown to me and to many other Americans. We should all realize that once our precious democracy is lost it won’t be easy getting it back, especially if Trump remains in power. His actions clearly show he seeks more and more power. And as the old aphorism goes: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Thus, our future as a free country with liberty and justice for all is beginning to dim. We must unite in our efforts to reclaim the government that many of us have lived for most of our lives.

Gerry Maggiora

Foothills

A death sentence with no trial

Trump has convinced many Americans that “illegal” aliens are all violent criminals who have terrorized the communities where they live and need to be chased out of the US. No evidence of this allegation has been presented although many unsubstantiated rumors appear on the internet.

The administration has rounded up people from other countries and shipped them out of the country with no due process or concern for whether the people involved are guilty of anything at all. Horrifying abuses have occurred. This is not how a country based on laws behaves. It is very expensive to taxpayers and makes us look like monsters to the world. At the same time, the US is pouring millions of dollars into a dictatorship to build prisons that are so harsh they could not exist in the US. I pray that God will save us as we seem unable to save ourselves.

Carol Hearn

West side

Protecting women

Today, I read several letters chastising the Democrats for demanding the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. It is evident that these writers are not understanding the reason so many Americans are fighting for the return of this one man. We are standing up for the rule of law. We know it is a slippery slope when this Administration chooses to disregard the judicial system.

One letter that really bothered me was the one from Loyal. He states that our nation’s women deserve protection from these violent criminals. That just doesn’t sit well with me. I ask you, Loyal, why aren’t you this outraged every time another mass shooting happens at a school filled with helpless, terrified children? Why aren’t you all joining the Democrats in passing common sense gun laws?

As a woman whose sister was murdered by her husband, I am more afraid of the Republican obsession with guns than I am about immigrants. Oh yeah, he murdered his second wife as well.

Donna Pierce

Northeast side

It’s about due process, not about one man

I read, with dismay, the opinions of some of the readers regarding the deportation of Abrego Garcia. They excoriate the Democrats’ support of Mr. Garcia who they and Trump accused of heinous crimes. Trump pulls out doctored documents accusing Mr. Garcia of different heinous crimes every day. But these opinion writers fail to see, through their obtuse thinking, is, that it is not about a single man, Abrego Garcia. It is about “Due Process” and that anyone falling out of favor, speaking out against the administration or having darker skin, can be picked up off the street and sent directly to a prison offshore without due process. It is about the Constitution and rights granted under it. Even if he was guilty of these fabricated heinous crimes, he has, like any other citizen, has the right to a hearing. So, you could be picked for your tattoo, the sign you are holding or social media posts and whisked off to a prison. That’s what dictators do under an authoritarian regime.

Rosalinda Barrios

Southeast side

Everyone entitled to due process

I don’t know if Garcia is a gang member or criminal, especially as our President is saying he is by showing ridiculously bad photo-shopped pictures of tattoos on Garcia’s hands. If there is reason to deport Garcia to El Salvador, he is entitled, like anyone else in our country, to a hearing. I admit confusion over the outrage about this by people who voted for someone to be President of the United States who was convicted of 34 felonies, was found liable of sexual assault, and paid off a porn star to keep her from talking so he could win an election. In addition, it’s apparently approved by them that 169 people who pled guilty of assaulting Police Officers on January 6, some with other violent criminal records, were pardoned and many have made it clear they intend to continue their illegal and violent behavior. All these people were given plenty of due process. Garcia deserves the same. This is America, not Russia — yet.

Kathleen Harris

Foothills

Walk away

Fascinating that President Donald Trump, author of Art of the Deal, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are now ready to “walk away” from the Ukrainian resistance of the continued onslaught of Russian attacks. Neither seem able to generate the cognitive nor the emotional reasoning to deal with this global conflict, which Donald Trump assured supporters he would end twenty-four hours after taking office.

Roger Shanley

East side

RFK Jr. a Birdbrain When It Comes To H5N1

Recently our US Health and Human Services Secretary was in Phoenix on a Make America Healthy Again tour, while poppin’ Zyn Nicotine Pouches like a boss. Meanwhile, measles is spreading through Texas and other states. An even bigger problem looms as a possible pandemic poses growing risk to people as the H5N1 pathogen spreads. The bird flu has spread from America’s poultry flocks to dairy herds and even jumping to other mammals including humans. 70 Americans have contracted the virus, while one has died. The Biden administration was slow to act on this possible pandemic, while 47’s DOGE housecleaning has resulted in laying off 100 key scientists while the virus keeps spreading. Starting in Texas, going from birds to cows for the first time and then to humans who were complaining of flu-like symptoms. Poultry farmers forced to kill tens of millions of birds caused egg prices to soar nationwide. If this spirals into a pandemic, this flu could make Covid look like a walk in the park.

Max LaPlante

Southeast side

The principle matters

When a person is vilified with half-truths, innuendos, and outright lies, it is an attempt to dehumanize and appeal to the fear-based feeling that the subject deserves the treatment received. This was on full display in the four consecutive LTE in the Sunday Star. It evokes in me an irrepressible feeling of disgust.

This hatefulness also entirely misses the point of the necessary return of Kilmar. The principle of the matter is that the Trump Administration is asserting a right to deport an individual, mistakenly or otherwise, with legal residency to a prison in a foreign country without any semblance of due process. Due process is a foundation of our constitutional order. The subterfuge of the four LTE is to create the narrative and impression that Kilmar, or any such labeled individual, does not deserve the right of due process. The principle of due process matters.

Frank P. Morello

Foothills

Warning to Greenlanders

This is my warning to the citizens of Greenland. 90% of the population in Greenland is indigenous Greenlandic Inuit. Greenland is socially progressive, with free healthcare and free education; the vast majority wants to have their own independent country. JD Vance will promise you unrivaled security; Trump will promise to make each one of you really rich, including sending you millions of dollars to pay (bribe) each citizen; and the Trump administration will promise all kinds of wonderful things. Don’t fall for it. If you have any doubt, ask any indigenous tribe or people in the United States how their treaties with the United States worked out, and you will learn quickly how empty those treaties were. You will lose your healthcare and education as it is now, and you will be treated no better than the citizens of Puerto Rico. Do keep your freedom, your independence, and your country.

Steve Cox

North side