Readers Write: Immigration enforcement, crime in Minneapolis

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

In the Nov. 18 article of “Exiting Ft. Snelling court, 225 immigrants arrested,” Minnesota Star Tribune reporters portray a scene even more vile than Franz Kafka describes in “The Trial.” Immigrants who attempt to follow the rules (reporting to immigration court) and adhere to the convoluted immigration minefield that Congress has created are now subject to a dystopian, impossible choice. Being arrested and swiftly snatched away to distant detention centers flies in the face of constitutional protections and makes a mockery of due process of law.

Undoubtedly, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are thrilled at such callous efficiency and abuse of the system. The tactics described should be abhorrent to those who still cling to the idea that our country supports the rule of law.

William Lindberg, Edina

•••

The reactions of the people quoted in the article about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at Bro-Tex Inc. (“Protesters, agents clash in St. Paul raid,” Nov. 19) demonstrate that parts of the progressive movement think that enforcing the law is unfair. They were outraged that ICE arrested people who are here illegally. Protesters shouted “Shame!” at agents, and one protester accused an agent of teaching her children to be racist. St. Paul City Council Member Molly Coleman said that “the federal government is a threat to our community.”

James Brandt, New Brighton

•••

Cities and counties across the U.S. have entered into 287(g) agreements with the Department of Homeland Security, which delegate ICE functions to local law enforcement. Others commit not to do so, by passing laws and ordinances. When I asked the Stillwater’s city administrator whether our city would promise to refrain from any 287(g) agreement, I was told to trust that leadership would do the right thing. But that response isn’t good enough.

Stillwater is what University of North Carolina law professor Rick Su calls a “silent sanctuary city,” where leadership implements policies through “informal guidance, departmental practices, or supervisory directives” rather than formal resolutions or ordinances. When asked for specifics, leadership deflects. This lack of clarity creates mistrust.

We deserve better. I ask that the city’s Human Rights Commission convene a forum where residents and city leaders discuss what it means to pursue a partnership with ICE (or not), and the pros and cons of either decision.

Sirid Kellermann, Stillwater

The writer is past chair of the Stillwater Human Rights Commission and a former City Council candidate.

•••

A community should always be willing to protect its most vulnerable. In the U.S. today, people are being snatched off the street by masked ICE agents. While there has been a fair amount of outcry from the public, I truly believe that one of the best ways to address this is for everyday people to step up and be willing to protect our neighbors. In recent weeks, there have been videos circulating on social media of everyday citizens standing up, speaking out and taking videos when they see people, who they may not even know, being pulled into unmarked cars. While this might not seem to be doing anything, I truly believe that it can make a difference. Recordings are helpful in identifying family members who are missing, and it continues to spread awareness of the issue. People making a lot of noise can be helpful in encouraging local leaders to do what they can to support efforts to protect our neighbors.

It’s really easy to stand around and say, “Hey, someone should do something about this.” It’s also really easy to forget that maybe that someone is you.

I am disheartened by the apparent lack of knowledge as expressed in the Star Tribune article about the recent carjacking of a Minneapolis City Council member (“Mpls. Council member carjacked by teens,” Nov. 12), described as “totally senseless” by Police Chief Brian O’Hara, and another incident in which a young mother with a young child was carjacked. Responding to these and similar incidents Mayor Jacob Frey called on parents to take a more active role in their children’s lives and noted that there must be consequences for these “heinous crimes.”

I participated in a 20-year survey of 30,000 adolescents placed in residential programs in Minnesota. A consistent finding was the lack of services to families before and after out-of-home placement. Annual reports were distributed to county human services and court services as well as the Minnesota Department of Corrections and Human Services. I conducted another study that revealed that while mothers attempted to maintain support of their sons post-discharge, fathers were likely to disengage.

My experience as a clinical director for residential treatment centers and as a family therapist and independent clinical social worker, contracted with counties to support families in an effort to prevent out-of-home placement, revealed a primary factor in the problem of repeat offenders.

Most are male, most have been abandoned or abused (or both) by their fathers, as their fathers had been, and most mothers are overwhelmed by poverty and a sense of powerlessness.

My questions to the chief and the mayor are: How do you define “senseless,” and what do you envision as a “more active role”? The response suggested by the statement that there must be consequences for these “heinous crimes” implies an historical repetition. We have tried punishment before. Threatening punishment or punishing depressed adolescents hasn’t proven to be an effective deterrent.

Richard DeBeau, Northfield

•••

On a recent morning, as my wife and I took our twice daily half-hour dog walk around our neighborhood, we came across a young father teaching the youngest of two toddlers how to bicycle. They stopped to talk to another father, leaning out a window, with three young kids in the yard. All very “Leave It To Beaver.” It made me think about the ongoing debate in the Strib about whether or not Minneapolis is some sort of a post-apocalyptic hellscape. Based on this morning and my daily experience of over 60-some years of living in Minneapolis, I would say not.

For sure, I live in a city, with all its urban amenities and urban blemishes. I don’t want to gloss over it: There are places in town that are in tough shape, and there are places that make me feel less safe. This has been the case my entire life. I guess I could choose to focus on that. At the same time, on a recent night we went downtown and had a lovely dinner and show at Orchestra Hall, something we do often. That’s city life, too.

So, for me, I will choose to love my city, avail myself of its amenities, support those areas that are hurting and celebrate the youngster who will surely have those training wheels off by the end of the weekend.