Dear Editor,

I read Craig Hall’s column, “ICE Riots should send a chill down every American’s spine.” With a headline parroting Fox and NewsMax, the tone was set. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The temptation of equating mostly peaceful rallies and marches as civil unrest is always tempting and certainly easy — just televise the same burning car over and over. The viewers won’t notice, right? Fear mongering and feeding the rage is more expedient than thoughtful discussion, which is exactly why we are where we are.

Most people understand the U.S. economy is supported substantially by migrant labor, and they also know immigrant labor has been expanding for decades under both parties. Immigrants (many with work visas or green cards) make up about one-fifth of the nation’s workforce, performing respectable and essential work throughout the sectors of agriculture, healthcare, meatpacking, construction, hospitality and other industries — as President Trump recently acknowledged in a forehead-smacking moment of clarity.

These workers contribute billions in taxes, even paying into the Social Security fund. As our workforce has shrunk from Boomers retiring and the birth rate declining, our country needs professional, paraprofessional and common labor resources to sustain our quality of life, economic conditions and growth.

The U.S. immigration system makes new citizenship remarkably complex, slow and expensive. Case processing takes years.

Of note, Gallup polling shows that 70 percent of U.S. adults favor allowing immigrants who entered the country illegally the opportunity to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time. Support is even higher, 80 percent, for a similar policy for those brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

In 2024 we witnessed a rare exercise in bipartisan discipline when Congress attempted to update immigration rules. Unfortunately, as a private citizen with extraordinary influence, Donald Trump tanked the promising bill and threatened to target any Republican lawmaker who supported it. Why? Because his superpower is scaring and enraging people. He was running for re-election. He wanted to demonize immigrants as murderers and rapists and mentally ill. It worked. He was re-elected despite inciting a deadly riot (spine chilling, I daresay) at the United States Capitol and being convicted of multiple felonies.

Let’s be real. There is no perilous emergency. What we are witnessing is a very anxious city whose people are being targeted as political chattel. That is why it is so shocking to see armed Marines in the streets of a U.S. city. That is why it is surreal to see shapeshifting, masked ICE agents in quasi-spiderman costumes snatching children, teens, adults and elderly off the streets while they’re on their way to harvest strawberries, bus tables, enjoy a baseball game or celebrate a family birthday.

Furthermore, it is the height of hypocrisy to see mysterious, masked agents lurking around courthouses to abduct individuals who are keeping their court appointments for visa or green card renewals.

While Los Angeles did in fact experience isolated rioting and tagging in its epicenter, rallies and marches throughout L.A. and other cities, including Grand Junction, have demonstrated that many Americans want sane, sensible approaches to immigration and elected officials who will follow the law, not bend it to their will using conjured emergencies.

Mr. Trump loves to say, and I quote, “Radical leftists and scum (which includes me, I guess) are in favor of open borders and allowing criminals to roam free and terrorize our communities.” That is nonsense. Just once, it would be refreshing to hear him speak with authentic respect for all Americans who happen to have differing viewpoints, not just those who voted for him and his policies.

In the coming months, we are certain to see the continued escalation of arrests that have nothing whatsoever to do with crime or fentanyl (yeah, remember the premise for all of this?). With armored vehicles, masked mystery men and bored soldiers patrolling our streets – and the astronomical cost of capturing, imprisoning and sending immigrants to random destinations – I wonder: Will the border problem be solved? Or will our country simply be subjected to very expensive, divisive and un-American master plan to advance a few political careers?

I think we all know the answer.

– Jacque Dansby, Whitewater