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ICE detention

Emily Bregel’s article about ICE detention is gut-wrenching. My tax dollars are enriching private prison companies that provide rotten food and overpriced commissary items to people, 73% of whom have no criminal record. And thanks to a new interpretation of existing law and the firing of immigration judges, this prison-for-profit scam will grow exponentially. Meanwhile, hardworking people who broke no laws other than arriving here illegally are ripped from their families. Their children are U.S. citizens. I ask my fellow citizens: Is this Christian? Is this what we have become? A nation where 50% of us are uninformed of these facts and simply don’t care? Where our Congress refuses to provide any oversight of this fire hose of corruption and cruelty? It is shocking how far we have fallen.

Leslie McGee

Midtown

Lies

On Oct. 11, the Star printed a letter with three falsehoods.

1. Senators Kelly and Gallegos did not shut down the government. Republicans did, by not compromising one iota on the health bill. Democrats are not signing a bill that takes away from the American people.

2. The Democratic health bill suggestions do not include coverage for illegal aliens.

3. The majority of voters did not vote for Trump. Among several people, he got the most votes, but the majority of those who voted, voted for someone else.

As far as military pay, Republicans could vote, right now, to not withhold it. They haven’t bothered. It is not Democrats who dishonor the military, it is Hegseth who wants to use “lethality” on the American people.

Christi Driggs

Northwest side

‘Shutdown fallacies’

I would respectfully point out, that in the LTE “Shutdown”, it is claimed that Senators Kelly and Gallego shut down the government to serve the needs of illegal immigrants. I feel this is an error on the part of the writer since illegal immigrants have no access to health care except through the services of the emergency room as do we all. I believe that while Senators Kelly and Gallego were the spokesmen for this request to the Speaker of the House, the vote to shut down the government had the full approval of Senator Schumer and the party. I would also remind the writer that our country consists of many other people besides its armed services and the military — most of whom have the same problems that government shutdown will cause. As far as I am concerned, these two senators did do the “right thing” and prevent the theft of health care that a rogue president has caused and restore that which we all worked for.

Richard Rebl

East side

Free buses are part of the solution

At the last Mayor and Council Meeting, there was a lot of discussion about our buses. Thank you, Mayor and Councilmembers, for keeping our buses free.

I’ve seen how free buses save lives.

As Pima County’s Community Restitution Program Supervisor, I manage both county and city court-ordered community service. Many of our program participants utilize public transportation. But it’s more than community service; they rely on free buses to get to their appointments, their jobs, and their treatment. Without free buses, I fear that these people will end up back on the streets or in jail.

If we were to reinstate bus fares, homelessness will not end and crime will not stop. It will only hurt Tucsonans who rely on free public transportation to make a living, pursue their education, and explore our beautiful city — or in my profession, become productive citizens.

Free buses are not a failure. If we want a solution to homelessness and crime, we must keep our buses free!

Art Corral

Southwest side

Our city deserves new leadership

My wife and I moved to Tucson in July, and we immediately saw how deeply crime and homelessness are affecting this city we now call home. As a former community health worker with the County of Los Angeles, I’ve witnessed what happens when compassion isn’t matched with accountability. Addiction worsens, and neighborhoods lose their sense of safety and trust.

Letting people remain unhoused without treatment or structure isn’t kindness. It’s neglect. True compassion means providing real opportunities for recovery and reintegration, while keeping our streets and public spaces safe for everyone.

That’s why I’ll be voting for JL Wittenbraker and Jay Tolkoff. They have a record of working across party lines and a genuine commitment to putting public safety and recovery first. Tucson needs leaders who believe in both dignity and discipline, who listen, collaborate, and act with accountability.

It’s time to restore safety, trust, and balance in our city government. JL and Jay represent exactly that.

John Adriatico

Southeast side

Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to Maria Machado, and most felt it was well-deserved. Her humanitarian efforts in her country of Venezuela were applauded as being the reason for the award. President Trump, quite naturally, did not agree with the decision. He was so audacious that he reported Maria had called him and said he should have won. This man does not believe the world revolves around him but he thinks he is the world. I propose that at the cessation of the Miss America pageant, Trump will ask for a recount, suggesting that he would be a more proper winner.

Philip Reinecker

East side

‘Common sense deficiency’

LTE “I can’t imagine the terrible state of our country with Kamala in control. Thank goodness for Trump’s use of common sense.” Common sense? Destroying every value this country holds dear? He is the worst of the worst. He destroys every value we as a nation should hold dearly. Environment Protection-no, People security & protection-no, helping the less fortunate-no. Illegal use of the military within our country-yes. Fair taxes-no. Americans hold dearly freedoms such as speech, religion, and the press — impossible in Trump’s world. We are not all super right-wing, extreme white, rich “Christians” of wealth. Other dearly held freedoms include the right to vote, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government. They also value fundamental rights like due process, equal protection under the law, and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures — not under Trump. He’s coming after US. Bring back decency.

Peter Bisschop

East side

Common sense, uncommon virtue

I just read a LTE that made me laugh out loud. Thank you, Ken Wolfe, for making me laugh when all the headlines seem to make me depressed. What I laughed about was an old saying we had in the Marine Corps as a joke in regards to the true statement, “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.” Our joke was, “Common Sense was an uncommon virtue.” After reading Ken’s comment regarding the fat felon and obese huckster regarding his use of “Common Sense,” was just too funny not to comment.

John Bingham

Northwest side

Indigenous people’s path?

OMG, where’s our super-hero savior to deliver us from insane economic developments? The Trump family is using cryptocurrency to make $5 billion appear out of thin air. The President’s pal Larry Ellison owns 98% of a Hawaiian island. His past BFF, Elon Musk, has a reported fortune of $500 billion. Simultaneously, the hordes of unhoused who have given up on the capitalist economy in favor of drug-induced escapism grow ever larger & more intransigent. And all the rest of us in the middle of these economic extremities live workaday lives; we don’t personally rub up against either great poverty or great power. It’s hard to understand why our American society chose this path. Happy Indigenous People’s Day, USA.

Mary DeCamp

Downtown

Town Hall democracy

America is engaged in a fight for political sanity: justice versus tyranny, order against chaos, light versus darkness. Democracy depends on open, thoughtful, and respectful discussion, even with those we disagree with. Without dialogue, democracy as we know it becomes vulnerable. That’s why town hall meetings are vital.

Our Congressman Juan Ciscomani is an authoritarian politico who doesn’t ask for permission; he does whatever he can get away with, putting himself first. He lacks political courage, hiding from voters and fearing constituents’ questions from we the people who sent him to Washington. He ducks, dodges, and evades us, afraid of confrontation. Ciscomani absolutely, positively refuses to hold town hall meetings in AZ CD6 — too scared to explain his critical votes against us in Washington.

We are in a fight for our freedom. If we don’t take action, we all share responsibility for what happens under Ciscomani’s controlling, autocratic rule over his constituents.

Jerry Wilkerson

SaddleBrooke

Baffled

Project 2025, Us and the Cost of Living. As always, I find some of the comments made in the opinion section about the current affairs of Washington baffling. It’s as if taking away the rights and freedom of speech of some people are OK. It is not okay, and it makes me mad as hell. I’m not sure where some people shop or where they’re getting a utility cost discount, but I want to go where they shop and get their discounts. Please post where we can all get these discounts, because the cost of groceries and the tariff tax have increased my cost of living a lot, and I am not amused. Maybe some folks are “looking through a glass darkly,” or maybe they just approve and support Project 2025 and the systematic dismemberment of our democracy in favor of the six unelected billionaire dictator families of greed.

Abreeza Zegeer

Southwest side