Regarding the story “‘Really reckless’” (Dec. 7), I agree. The conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in enforcing immigration and border laws could have been less rough and more professional during Operation Midway Blitz. The agency should have been more communicative. We have a right to know the who, what and why.
Then again, we see the Tribune ignoring American border and immigration laws. The Barack Obama administration deported millions. That was followed by the Joe Biden administration’s border policies, which allowed millions into our country.
All of this “really reckless” behavior could have been avoided if the Biden administration had not refused to enforce the immigration and border laws of our country.
Surely the Tribune respects that all laws of America should be enforced. Our elected officials created them. They are the laws of our land passed to protect Americans!
— Joseph A. Murzanski, Orland Park
A breeding ground
When I saw the front-page of the Tribune with a picture of a masked federal agent sitting in a vehicle and pointing a handgun through the window, I could think of no better headline than “Really reckless.”
As someone who served for 45 years as a police officer (including 22 years as a police chief), I totally agree with the comments made by former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske and former Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, as quoted in the article. The federal agents’ actions were inconsistent with acceptable police practice and represented a breeding ground for disaster.
In my mind, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents are not well trained in the proper law enforcement tactics for the job they have been assigned. The blame for that lack of training rests squarely on the shoulders of Department of Homeland Security leadership. Rather than accepting responsibility for providing the required training and supervision, DHS leadership exacerbated the problem by discounting the criticism it has received.
That resistance to change will result in more violence against the agents and the protesters.
— David E. Dial, Naperville
Just political theater
The tactics and actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents during Operation Midway Blitz beg explanation and description of the hiring practices and training provided for these agents. The reckless behavior described in the Dec. 7 article was very disturbing. I have to believe that the Donald Trump administration’s rapid expansion of Customs and Border Protection has been done at the expense of the vetting and training of candidates.
Operation Midway Blitz has been little more than political theater, harmful to the Chicago area and its citizens.
— Richard Wambach, St. Charles
Peace in his hands
It is simultaneously heartening and depressing to witness President Donald Trump’s flailing attempts to end the war in Ukraine. Similar to one’s hand getting stuck in a pickle jar and refusing to let go, Trump has peace in his hands but can’t seem to pull it out of the jar. This is for a very simple reason — while Trump asserts that Russia “holds all the cards” in its ability to prosecute the war, he simultaneously claims that Russia has no capability to end its own invasion and that only Ukraine does.
There are few things more nauseating than having to listen to the Kremlin assert that the war cannot end until its “root causes” are addressed, which is a thinly veiled reference to Russia’s claims that Ukraine is being led by Nazis. Yet, this line has been fully adopted by the U.S. administration. Whether Trump truly believes the power to end the war lies with Ukraine or whether he doesn’t actually believe this and will simply do everything in his power to avoid criticizing Putin lest he risk future trade deals, there is no conceivable way that these “peace” talks will end in actual peace. There is no common ground between Russia and Ukraine: One wants to exist, and one wants the other to not exist. There is no overlap here.
It’s reassuring to know that Trump is unable to force the Ukrainians to accept a deal. However, it’s beyond unfortunate that the only attempts to end this war revolve around Ukrainian capitulation. The result is that Ukraine retains its sovereignty, but also that the pressure necessary to end this war will not be exerted on Russia, the only party that is truly capable of ending the war.
Ukraine will survive, but the pressure from the U.S. is being squandered by not being leveraged on Russia. This war will thus continue to be falsely seen as intractable.
— Ethan Feingold, Chicago
Campaign for civility
The U.S. Department of Transportation has launched a civility campaign for air travelers: “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” Our unqualified U.S. secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, formerly a Fox Network host and MTV reality television star, condescendingly lectures us about manners and respect in a public service announcement.
Promoting the campaign on Fox News, Duffy said, “We’ve asked Americans to bring their better selves — to bring civility back to travel.”
There is no “better” self for our increasingly uncivil president to bring to travel. On a recent flight on Air Force One, the Republican standard bearer, angered by a female reporter’s question regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files, snapped, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” Having overused “dog,” “vermin,” “scum” and “low IQ” as his standard insults, President Donald Trump has added “piggy,” “ugly,” “terrible,” “stupid” and “nasty” to his repertoire to hurl at female journalists.
Two suggestions for Duffy: Focus on vitally important transportation issues, such as the urgent need for more air traffic controllers, and forward your civility campaign PSA to your boss.
— Jane Cox, Wheaton
Extrajudicial killing
When the U.S Supreme Court majority ruled that a president has “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, noting, among other things, that the ruling would allow the president to commit murder. As an example, she wrote that if the president “orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune.”
To many, her comment seemed extreme — reductio ad absurdum. No president of the U.S. would ever order a murder.
But now we have President Donald Trump ordering the killing of boat occupants far from our border. Law professor Gabor Rona, echoing many other legal scholars, wrote that “these killings are simply murder — extrajudicial killings in violation of United States and international human rights law because the boats’ occupants are not attacking the United States, nor do they pose an imminent threat of attack.” That seems pretty straightforward.
It seems like the decision to kill was made first, and then a justification — any justification, even if preposterous — was then sought.
Sotomayor’s thinking now seems prescient. Indeed, the president of the United States can get away with murder.
— Sheldon Hirsch, Wilmette
No replacement yet
When the Affordable Care Act was passed, Republicans said it was horrible and they were going fix it for the millions who signed up. And how are they doing with that? Not one Republican has put forward an insurance policy for poor Americans.
Perhaps it is that Republicans want nothing to do with poor Americans.
— Marsha Lieberman, Chicago
Vaccination matters
I read the obituaries every day. A 78-year-old man recently was listed who died from complications of whooping cough. In 1936, I exposed my 76-year-old grandmother to it, and she became very ill. Luckily, she survived.
Today, vaccines not only protect the child; they also protect the family.
— Jacqueline Nussbaum, Wilmette
Note to readers: We’d like to know your hopes for the new year. Please send us a letter, of no more than 400 words, to letters@chicagotribune.com by Sunday, Dec. 28. Include your full name and city/town.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/12/letters-121225-ice-border-patrol-operation-midway-blitz/
