Tucson Speaks Out: June 4

Human dignity or human decency

Kudos to the Daily Star for the sobering report on the detention of Maria Cristina Tapia Cornejo, the 71-year-old great-grandmother who has spent 10 months at the Eloy Detention Center. Even though she is an undocumented worker, she should be treated with basic human decency and granted humanitarian parole while she fights deportation. Trump claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement is rounding up the “worst of the worst.” I do not believe a dishwasher at the Colt Grill Restaurant falls into that category. Meanwhile, the restaurant owners, charged with “smuggling undocumented immigrants,” are free to travel. The cruelty is far beyond all reasonable proportion.

A neighbor recently told me that ICE should be putting even more people into these overcrowded, poorly run detention centers. When I mentioned due process, he said, “We don’t have time for due process!”

If we do not have time for the principles which make our country exceptional, then perhaps what we are doing is wrong.

James Lombardo

Oro Valley

Day 2?

Bereft of foresight, Trump bombed Iran without a plan for Day 2.

IF Iran manages to develop a nuclear bomb, Israel will detonate it by bombing the Iranian location. That Iran is incapable of hiding secrets from Mossad was clearly demonstrated when Iran's entire top echelon of leadership achieved martyrdom.

IF Iran manages to create an ICBM to deliver the bomb to the US, Israel will alert the US to the launch site's location and, with the impunity our military has so effectively demonstrated, we will destroy that missile and its launchpad.

All Trump had to do was wait. Instead, Trump continues his erratic behavior, wasting military lives, billions of dollars, and US and world economic security to create chaos to avoid the revelation of his toxic past with Epstein. In comparison, he makes the martyrdom-accepting mullahs, who have managed to stalemate Trump in the Strait of Hormuz, appear rational.

Rick Cohn

West side

Child care grant is a lifesaver

As an oncology nurse and mother, my days are defined by caring for others. Knowing that my children are in safe, quality care while I'm at work makes that possible. In Arizona, the average cost of infant care runs over $1,300 a month. But, thanks to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), eligible families pay no more than $35 a month. Those savings allow my children to have the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in quality care without financial stress for me. The benefits of this program are meaningful for shift workers across all sectors whose schedules can't always follow a nine-to-five. Senators Kelly and Gallego have shown support for working parents on this issue and now have an opportunity to build on it. The Child Care Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill, strengthens CCDBG and better equips states to meet our growing child care needs. I urge them to champion the Child Care Modernization Act. For families like mine, it makes all the difference.

Taelor Martin

Downtown

A primary-election primer

I was very pleased to see the lead article — A Primary-Election Primer — in the June 2 print edition of the Star. However, in trying to check my voter registration status as noted on page B-4, there was no easy way to get to the appropriate website.

I went to the online version, and there were hot links to websites, but no website URLs in the print edition. This could frustrate or even prevent voting for those who are not yet into the digital world. It would be very unfortunate if voters were constrained in any way.

Thank you for prominently sharing this information in the print editions.

Penny Pestle

Green Valley

Marana

After years of repairing an aging house, we wanted new when we retired to Marana 20 years ago. Marana had just built a library, all subdivisions had parks, walking paths and good schools; and Oro Valley had a new hospital.

Now the town council wants to destroy this bucolic place with an ICE concentration camp and a huge data center.

Our town does not need 700+ people Trump calls “vermin”, “rapists”, and “murderers” eating our pets? Already 150 facilities across 33 states have seen protests. Do we want the bad publicity of Alligator Alcatraz or Delaney Hall here? Do we want to be identified as MAGA racists and hate-mongers?

Do we want the water depletion, heat generation, electricity usage, pollution and noise of a data center just to gain 200 jobs, and a town council member might benefit from the land sale?

The only solution is to vote the incumbents out of office in July. Marana is for families, not corporate profits!

Dee Maitland

Marana