Readers Write: Immigration enforcement, military orders, U/Fairview deal, housing, Ukraine

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

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement dragged allegedly undocumented people out of Bro-Tex Inc. this week (“ICE says raid at St. Paul company was immigration operation that netted numerous arrests,” StarTribune.com, Nov. 20). Family members said those individuals had worked there for decades. Decades.

If they were undocumented, why — after decades — was Bro-Tex unaware of that? Why weren’t Bro-Tex owners and management dragged out with their employees? While it is only a civil offense to be in the country without documentation, it is a federal crime to knowingly employ undocumented people.

Why isn’t ICE going after the employers for the more serious crime?

Deborah Jensen, Rogers

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“Expedited removal was previously reserved for migrants caught within 100 miles of the border and within two weeks after crossing illegally. Now, the Trump administration is applying it to noncitizens living anywhere who can’t show they have been in the U.S. for at least two years.”

How can we condone the rampant use of this procedure to arrest people at their workplace and deport them with no due process whatsoever? And it appears that many of the persons being deported have been here for years, working and providing for their families.

Dolores Voorhees, St. Paul

In the Nov. 21 edition of the Star Tribune, there is a reminder that “Eighty years ago in Nuremberg, top Nazis faced justice.” Two pages later, a headline stating “Trump accuses 6 Democrats of sedition” for reminding members of the military that they are not supposed to obey illegal orders. The Nazi defendants in the Nuremberg trials generally claimed — among other things — that they were “only following orders.”

President Donald Trump accuses the lawmakers of sedition and in one of his all-too-frequent outbursts on social media shared a post calling for them to be hanged as George Washington would supposedly have done. If Trump wants to channel his inner George Washington, perhaps he should start by reading “Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation” written by Washington. That would be a good start.

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The president imagines that because he is immune to prosecution for his official actions (so the Supreme Court has ruled), therefore his orders must be legal. That is not the case.

Recently the president has criticized elected officials for encouraging members of our military to refuse illegal orders. He has characterized such advice as sedition, a crime punishable by death.

To the contrary, our military is permitted, even obligated, to refuse illegal orders, per the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Joel Carter, Minneapolis

Are we all supposed to believe that a convicted felon would never give an illegal order?

Tom Noerenberg, Plymouth

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On Thursday, six Democratic lawmakers, senators and representatives, all of whom served in the military or intelligence community, reminded active military members that they can refuse an illegal order. Refusing illegal orders is part of standard military training. But Trump claims that reminding military members of this part of their training is “SEDITIOUS” and punishment should be to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD.”

Have we become so immune to the unhinged rantings of our president that when he actually calls for the execution of elected officials we as a nation shrug and say, “It’s just Thursday?”

The 1997 arrangement between the University of Minnesota and Fairview Health Services was a historic mistake, and the current situation underscores the need for an alternate approach that includes an independent academic medical center governed solely by the university and the state (“U deal spotlights leadership rifts,” Nov. 21). It will take time, and it will not be cheap. But it is the kind of investment the people of Minnesota should make in order to retain and attract gifted faculty and researchers and provide state-of-the-art patient care.

We should remember that the vast majority of physicians who practice in Minnesota were trained at the university. We should also recall that many groundbreaking medical discoveries have occurred in the U’s laboratories and operating rooms.

The Fairview-university arrangement has not served the citizens of Minnesota. It is time to return to our roots.

Robert G. Hauser, Long Lake

We appreciate the University of Minnesota’s Edward Goetz and Anthony Damiano highlighting housing costs (“We’re finding haves and have-nots with rents in Minneapolis,” Strib Voices, Oct. 31). As owners and operators of quality rental homes, the Twin Cities Housing Alliance shares their concerns about flat household incomes, rising operating costs and inflation.

Operators are price sensitive, too. They provide a range of stable housing options that are affordable. Like our renters, owners face external cost drivers and must respond to well-intentioned policies like rent control and property tax-funded city programs that make housing more expensive.

In 2025, St. Paul property taxes increased 5.9%, the Ramsey County property tax increased 4.75%, and the St. Paul Public Schools property tax increased 7.9%. In Minneapolis, property taxes increased 6.9% and Hennepin County property taxes increased 5.5%.

Operating costs are rising, too. One operator’s insurance increased 25% over the last two years. Gas and electricity paid by the owner rose 5% those same years.

We advocate for a shared goal. Building more homes is one of the best ways to reduce renters’ costs.

In Minneapolis, the city’s 2040 Plan focused on increasing supply. St. Paul’s rent control policy restricted supply. The impact on renters is in the numbers. Between February 2024 and 2025, rents in St. Paul increased (two-bedroom units up 13% and 3-bedroom units up 3%) while rents in Minneapolis decreased (two-bedrooms down 6% and 3-bedrooms down 1%).

Cathy Capone Bennett, Bloomington

The writer is executive director of Twin Cities Housing Alliance.

I’ve been reading all the news about increased property taxes, and indeed, my proposed property taxes are up 6.4% (“When will Minnesotans reach their limit?” Strib Voices, Nov. 15). But this pales in comparison to the increase in the cost of my homeowners insurance. Same house, no claims, but my insurance premium has increased by a whopping 75%. Talk about a bigger bite!

Sue Kirchoff, Minneapolis

What a long descent it is from President Ronald Reagan’s “Trust but verify,” quoting a Russian proverb to our Soviet adversaries, to Friday’s Star Tribune headline “Plan asks Russia to agree not to invade Ukraine again.” Couldn’t our current president at least revisit Charlie Brown’s football experience with Lucy? There’s no comedy in President Donald Trump’s reckless trust of Dear Leader Vladimir Putin. When Russia’s Lucy jerks away that ball, it will be more than Ukraine that tumbles.