I think it is a good idea for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to wear body cameras. They would show the actions of federal immigration agents and people opposed to undocumented people being removed from this country.
— Eva Franzwa, Arlington Heights
Courage despite grief
Thank you to Denise Lorence (“My daughter is the face of Operation Midway Blitz. I am reclaiming her legacy,” Oct. 22) for sharing her daughter Katie Abraham’s loving personality and her own response to the vicious use of her daughter’s name by federal immigration authorities, in spite of her own grief. It took great courage, and I respect and admire her for it.
I hope she can find some peace and some support in the midst of her pain, in speaking out against the use of her beautiful child as an instrument of cruelty against other children. Bless her. Many of us are behind her.
— Mary Jo Burke, Freeport, Illinois
Ticket appropriate
Chicago Tribune journalist Gregory Royal Pratt profiled the plight of Reuben Antonio Cruz, a foreign national, who claims to have been unfairly ticketed for failing to carry proof of registration with him when federal immigration agents queried whether he had papers (“‘It’s not fair … I’m a resident,’” Oct. 14). Cruz did not have registration papers on his person and was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for further questioning. While he was released after ICE verified his residency status, he received a $130 ticket for not having his papers. Cruz said that since the ICE agents refused to go to his home where he could show them his papers, it was not fair.
As a privilege of U.S. residency, federal law mandates that registered foreign nationals must carry proof of registration with them at all times. Cruz would have been made aware of this requirement. The article mentions that previous administrations may not have enforced the law, but this would be no excuse for one to be relaxed in adherence to the law.
Comparably, other privileges that we enjoy, such as operating a motorized vehicle, also carry similar requirements. As a driver, I am required to carry a government-issued driver’s license. If I were to be stopped by a police officer and did not have my driver’s license on my person, I would be subject to a ticket that would carry a fine. Despite the fact that the police officer could verify my current license status on his computer within minutes, I would nonetheless be in violation of the law and subject to a fine. If I were to request that the police officer follow me to my home where I could show him my driver’s license, I am sure this request would be denied.
Rather than portray himself as a victim, I suggest that Cruz and all other foreign nationals ensure compliance with the law by carrying their papers with them at all times, just as I carry my driver’s license with me when I am driving.
— Jim Wagner, Sleepy Hollow
Effects of US policies
Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to enforce federal border and immigration laws with an air of moral authority — and even brutality. Yet the U.S. government fails to acknowledge its long history of responsibility in creating the very conditions driving migration.
For more than two centuries, the Monroe Doctrine has allowed the United States to act as Latin America’s “Big Brother,” shaping its politics, economies and stability. The resulting poverty and unrest are not coincidences — they are the legacy of that interference.
Today’s migration pressures are, in part, the natural consequence of America’s own policies.
— Nelson Borelli, Chicago
Biden’s responsibility
Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs signs saying: “We are correcting the Joe Biden administration errors of immigration and criminal law.”
— Jack Donohue, Lombard
Where can I find antifa?
I have been trying to join antifa. However, I have been unsuccessful in my attempt to join. So I need a little help.
Can someone send me the following information? Address for antifa. Their email address. Their phone number. Their website so that I may view upcoming events. Who is the president or head of antifa?
If no one can provide this information, I will have to contact President Donald Trump. He must know the answers to my questions; after all, he did designate them a terrorist organization in September.
I am sure such a designation did not come without having a few facts to help with it.
— Michael Hersh, Chicago
What ‘antifa’ actually is
I am so tired of hearing the president, all the president’s men and some of the president’s women ranting about “antifa.” What in the sam hill is “antifa”?
For President Donald Trump and his toadies, “antifa” is the bogeyman, the creepy creature hiding under their bed. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem says: “They are just as sophisticated as MS-13, as (Tren de Aragua), as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them, they are just as dangerous They have an agenda to destroy us.”
Spoiler alert: There is no organization named “antifa.” There is no leader, elected or self-appointed. There are no headquarters, no meetings, no membership roles, no dues, no press releases, no rules, no “antifa” website or podcast, no mass mailings of newsletters or pleas for donations. Not even a website hawking made-in-China “antifa” gewgaws.
What our would-be dictator and his crew of royal palace guard hopefuls refer to as “antifa” is the frightening and increasingly loud sound of real Americans protesting the attempt to convert our democracy into a monarchy.
— Dan McGuire, Bensenville
Soft-on-crime Trump
As a law-abiding citizen, I am tired of soft-on-crime politicians. White-collar and violent criminals look to these politicians to set them free.
Citizens continue to vote for and support these politicians releasing criminals back into our neighborhoods. Of course, I am talking about the convicted felon President Donald Trump, who is soft on crime and emptying our prisons if a criminal strokes his ego, no matter how egregious the act, such as George Santos.
— John Kasner, LaPorte, Indiana
Conservative principles
In his Oct. 20 letter (“Advice for Democrats”), Gene Sweet indicates that many independent voters chose Donald Trump in the 2024 election because of the Democrats’ policies of leniency toward violent criminals and discrimination against “more qualified” job applicants.
If that is the case, how did those voters feel about President Trump using pardon powers to release more than 1,000 violent criminals on his first day in office? How did they feel about the blatantly unqualified Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel being appointed to critical government positions?
I would hope that these independents have some regret over their choice. They do not need to embrace liberal policies; they just need to put pressure on their Republican U.S. senators and representatives to stand up for the conservative principles of separation of powers, an independent Justice Department, federalism, respect for the military and respect for a free press. It would take only four Republicans in each chamber to break ranks and stop Trump’s extreme power grabs.
— Sanford Stein, Evanston
What hunger breeds
As President Donald Trump prepares to send soldiers to occupy American cities in the name of confronting “rampant crime,” he also is preparing to cut off food assistance for millions of needy Americans. If he thinks we have a crime problem now (and if he thinks it’s going to be limited solely to so-called blue cities in blue states), just wait. People desperate to feed their hungry children will do whatever it takes to do so.
— David G. Whiteis, Chicago
Priorities for tax dollars
During the last election, I seem to recall criticisms of the Democrats that said they were out of touch with the American people, spent money foolishly and were elitists.
Now, under the Donald Trump regime, we are witnessing unlawful searches and seizures; skyrocketing food prices, housing costs and insurance premiums; and defunding, if not eradication, of government departments that give aid to our citizens, and others, who need help. People are hurting.
At the same time, we are witnessing our president receive a “gift” of a $400 million jet (which requires $1 billion to retrofit), the purchasing of two jets for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Department of Homeland Security officials to use at $170 million, the paving over of the Rose Garden with a large slab of concrete, a garishly gilded “renovation” of the Oval Office, and the destruction of the East Wing to build a ballroom with a projected cost of $250 million that nobody wanted or approved.
Diverting the money spent on these frivolous ego trips to citizens who could use it for food or rent or health care would prove to us that this president is actually in touch with the people who elected him.
— Pamela Skinner, Palatine
People gather while attending a No Kings rally in Grant Park in response to President Donald Trump’s increased immigration enforcement actions in the area, Oct. 18, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
We don’t want a king
The “No Kings” business reminded me of something from a few years back. A fifth grade teacher was explaining reasons for the American Revolution. A big reason she said was the colonists didn’t like the king. A student looked up and said, “They didn’t like Elvis?” Telling this usually raises a chuckle or at least a smile.
Really, though, it’s deadly serious. We don’t want a king. We have a Constitution that tries to ensure that we will have a democracy, not a feudal system led by a king. Judges who determine cases regarding constitutional issues, whether originalists or of other philosophies in interpretation, need to remember this.
We all should. We don’t want a king.
— Bill Burns, South Elgin
Our health is at risk
As a physician and clinical teaching faculty member, I am appalled at the multiple assaults on the health of Americans that is our government’s current project. When I see students, children and community members being racially profiled or violently abducted in the name of “public safety,” how can I be silent?
At my recent lecture, I had to inform the physicians-in-training that they needed to look at sources other than the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reliable vaccine guidance. This administration is promoting quackery and ignorance, and all of us will bear the burden.
The cancellation of assistance to hungry children and those with disabilities, termination of medical research, threats to vaccine development and availability, the hollowing out of the CDC, massive cuts to equal access to health care and the abandonment of measures to address the climate crisis ensure suffering for the most vulnerable — and for all of us. This is not what Americans want. Emboldening federal agents to use traumatic violence on Chicago’s children is more than illegal — it is immoral.
Reducing human suffering requires a functioning democracy. I am standing up for a healthy democracy for healthy people. This includes joining rallies, writing letters, making donations, calling my representatives on a regular basis, talking to colleagues, voting and working to preserve voting rights.
This letter serves as warning that our health is in danger, and I urge everyone to join with like-minded activists to protect our democracy and ourselves.
— Dr. Regina de Leon Gomez, Arlington Heights
‘Real Americans’?
When I heard U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., talk about how the government shutdown affects “real Americans,” it sounded very elitist. It made me wonder how he would define what type of an American he is?
Maybe that is the problem.
— Cathleen Bylina, Chicago
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/24/letters-102425-ice-crackdown/
