How to Fix Our Immigration System

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/opinion/trump-immigration.html

Version 0 of 1.

To the Editor:

Re “Trump Wants No Due Process at U.S. Border” (front page, June 25):

President Trump wishes to eliminate due process for noncitizens while preparing camps to imprison asylum seekers and other migrants indefinitely. These are turning points in the swelling crisis of our democracy. If allowed to be institutionalized, such policies will eventually be used against political opponents and other “undesirables,” regardless of citizenship status.

Enabled by a supine Congress, the United States is sliding into dictatorship. Woe be the day that writing a letter like this will result in persecution — me for writing it, and you for publishing it.

JONATHAN BACH, NEW YORK

To the Editor:

The main problem with the immigration system is the long delay between arrival and a hearing. Keeping children or adults in detention for years is harmful and costly. Adequately staff the immigration process and get the backlog addressed. Make it a 90-day process. Amend the laws: Extend the Flores rule about how long children can be detained from 20 days to 90 days, and legislate that babies born in detention are not citizens.

We need enough judges, prosecutors and defenders to provide justice that is swift and fair. Ask retired judges to come back part time. Have experienced immigration prosecutors and defenders each mentor five new law graduates. Ask existing legal organizations to help. Many retired attorneys would volunteer. I would.

Work with the laws we have right now and get the backlog down. Build temporary courtrooms, not permanent long-term detention centers. Let’s make the immigration process great again.

KAREN WILLIE, SEATTLE

To the Editor:

The general public does not understand the threat of immigration. It is so simple! Imagine if a family of, let’s say five, came to your house uninvited and said we are moving in. We expect you to feed us, educate us, clothe us, maintain our health, provide shelter and find us work. What would you do?

You would call the police to have them removed. They were not invited! We need to protect our borders the same way we need to protect our homes from unwanted guests. Simple!

TOM KELLER, SYLVANIA, OHIO

To the Editor:

Re “Migrants Order Tosses a Wrench Into the System” (front page, June 23):

To make his point that immigrants are dangerous criminals, President Trump paraded before the cameras a handful of Americans whose relatives were tragically killed by illegal immigrants.

To make a point that is both logical and fair, he should now hold a White House event showcasing the thousands killed by native-born whites. It’s white folks like me who are more likely to be the perpetrators of mass killings in schools, churches and other places, but you won’t hear the president berating a whole group — white people — when that happens.

I wonder why.

CAROLYN D. LEWISOCEAN VIEW, DEL.

To the Editor:

Re “Don’t Put Families in Cages,” by Sonia Nazario (Sunday Review, June 24):

Thirteen years ago, I founded a nonprofit organization to support political asylum seekers. Our model is simple. I organized local religious congregations and several human rights organizations to pool their resources. We find suburbanites with spare bedrooms to host our clients.

In addition to modest stipends to both the host and client, we provide medical services, transportation, recreational opportunities, English language instruction, and education and job training. We also work with their attorneys and ensure that our clients appear for the hearing in immigration court.

Detention centers are grim, dehumanizing places that in many cases retraumatize those escaping violence. By contrast, our organizations provide a humane alternative at a mere fraction of the cost of detention centers. An enlightened government would move toward supporting alternatives such as ours.

JOSEPH CHUMAN, TEANECK, N.J.

The writer is the founder of the Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition.