LI brothers deported to El Salvador, ICE arrests, Bad Bunny's Super Bowl show

The article “Land they hardly know” [News, Feb. 8] tells the story of the Trejo Lopez brothers, who came here as youngsters and were recently deported to El Salvador. It clearly illustrates the profound loss our society will suffer in the years ahead from deporting youths.

I fear that the nearly 1,600 rioters pardoned for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection pose a greater danger than the thousands of migrants being deported without due process. The current administration imposes a stark dichotomy: us vs. them. This imbalance is insidious, and the effort to resolve it is a controversy that stains and strains the fabric of our democracy.

Listening is being sacrificed in the name of expediency. Children and young adults — arguably our nation’s most valuable human capital — are experiencing deep and lasting disruptions as they are caught in this web of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Previous administrations did not do enough about immigration reform. Will this administration have the courage to listen and develop an immigration policy that respects all migrants residing in this country?

— Neil Bueno, Blue Point

Who wants criminals in their communities? Why would anyone want federal law enforcement officers removed instead? Is it not common sense to want to live in a safe environment for you and your family? And isn’t it rational to want your neighbors to obey the law, just like you? These are simple questions that seem to befuddle the left. Or are some people so anti-Trump that they can’t see the forest for the trees?

As a civil society, we need to answer these questions with our children in mind. Without law and order now, there is no future for our children in this country.

— Kenneth P. Lebeck, Plainview

A reader asked the question, “Who would be against this,” referring to ICE arresting people who entered the country illegally [“Reactions to Minnesota shootings,” Letters, Jan. 29]. I’m sure almost everyone would say that no one should enter illegally. It is about who is getting detained and deported, and the way it is being done.

The administration said ICE was going to go after the “worst of the worst,” constantly mentioning drug and human traffickers, murderers, and those with a sexual assault record. Which one of those categories did 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos fit into? Just how much fentanyl was hidden in his hat’s bunny ears? Why are people with no criminal records being dragged through the streets so inhumanely?

And if we’re a country that believes in laws, how about using court-ordered search warrants and not rounding up a bunch of brown-skinned people and hoping you’ve caught a criminal in the bunch. What does that say about America?

The administration could have spent this time looking for only the dangerous criminals and making plans for immigration reform, while respecting existing rules for people who have been here for 20 years, paying taxes, being good neighbors, and raising children who fought in our military.

— Roberta Comerchero, Commack

As congressional leaders negotiate funding for the Department of Homeland Security, it is imperative that maximum revision of ICE financing, policies and operations be mandated. Long Island’s House and Senate representatives must be emboldened to respond to their voters’ demands that we can no longer tolerate our communities being engulfed in fear, injustices, and violence. Reports on the negotiations indicate measures that will ameliorate this attack on American values, safety, and peace of mind. They must be instituted.

President Donald Trump’s recent advice for “a bit of a softer touch” won’t cut it — not in this time of national duress.

— John Paluszek, Westbury

Why wait for trial’s end before deporting?

I find it absurd that, in many cases, immigrants who entered our country illegally and are suspected of a crime would be put on trial and, if guilty, incarcerated and eventually deported [“Pursuit of justice, ICE policy clash in Nassau cases,” News, Feb. 9]. Obviously, the nature and severity of the crime should matter, but for nonviolent crimes, it makes little sense to burden taxpayers with the costs of lengthy trials and years of imprisonment, only to deport the offender after the sentence is served.

Incarceration has two primary purposes: punishment and rehabilitation. When an individual will ultimately be deported, rehabilitation within our society is irrelevant, and punishment beyond removal serves no practical purpose. In these cases, continuing to prosecute and imprison immigrants here illegally is a waste of taxpayer money that could be better allocated elsewhere.

— James Nardone, St. James

Missing subtitles for Bad Bunny’s show

I have one more takeaway from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show [“3 takeaways from Bad Bunny’s halftime,” flash!, Feb. 10].

If the powers that be who controlled the production had simply provided closed caption subtitles to the performance, Bad Bunny’s artistic message of pride of heritage and love of country would have been realized immediately by millions of people in more than 170 non-Spanish-speaking countries.

Sadly, a bright and powerful message was delayed until it could be translated. Timing is everything.

— Scott Miller, Shoreham