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Editorial on immigration case off base

Your editorial in the Oct. 28 edition of The Gazette, ["Immigrant detention mishap case undermines trust, relationship with police"], is at best extremely unbalanced and naÔve and is typical of the leftist political agenda that is so common in Montgomery County. Here are just a couple of specifics in your editorial that lead me to this conclusion.

The editorial hides the fact that the person who was detained by federal authorities is in the United States illegally and is a known member of the violent MS-13 gang. Given the number of high profile murders and other violent crimes that have taken place in Montgomery County by illegal aliens over the last few years, it is outrageous that you are an active participant in distorting the facts of the situation. Allowing MS-13 gang members and other criminals who are here illegally to avoid deportation certainly will help "undermine trust" of the average resident in the county. So will the uncontrolled importation of poverty via persons (a very high percentage who are single males between the ages of 18 and 35, who are statistically the most likely to be involved in criminal activities) who reside in Montgomery County illegally. Why was this not expressed in the editorial?

The Gazette continues to substitute the word "immigrant" for persons who have entered the United States and reside here illegally. An immigrant is a person who comes to the country under our existing rules and abides by them so they reside here under the full protection of our laws. Why are you an advocate for not following the rule of law? Does The Gazette support breaking our laws because somebody wants to benefit in some manner deemed OK by a liberal perspective? Is it OK to rob a grocery store if one needs food? Is it OK to steal a car if one needs transportation? Does The Gazette support anarchy in Montgomery County? What other laws should we ignore or violate so we can build trust with those who have already committed a crime?

The Gazette freely quotes the known illegal alien advocate group Casa de Maryland in this editorial. Why did you not also include a spokesman from a group that is a known supporter for the enforcement of our immigration laws? This is mandatory to present a balanced view of the topic. Failure to do so results in The Gazette advocating the breaking of our existing law.

Using the liberal mantra of "Failure to enact comprehensive federal immigration reforms" as a reason to not enforce our existing law is irresponsible. If your position is that the existing law should be changed then go ahead and be an advocate for working within our political system to make the change (although this should not be the role of a community newspaper). Until this happens the county police should enforce existing law to the best of their ability. They should not pick and choose which laws are good and which should be ignored or circumvented for political purposes. Montgomery County is quickly becoming the destination of choice for those who are here illegally.

The current Montgomery County Police policy of waiting for a violent crime to be completed before taking action to deport the individual is abhorrent. In my view, the police, politicians and newspapers, such as The Gazette, who are advocates for this policy are enablers for each crime committed by a person who could have been deported when they were detained for a lesser crime such as drunk driving, theft, etc.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona uses a common sense approach to enforcing our laws. Too bad we don't have him in Montgomery County instead of [Police Chief] Tom Manger, who seems more interested in leftist politics than reducing crime. If our laws were enforced, there would be a number of people alive today in Montgomery County and elsewhere who were murdered or killed by persons in this county illegally. This editorial is an embarrassment to our long tradition of living by the rule of law.

Del Griffanti, Chevy Chase

Illegal immigrants threaten safety

I fail to see why the detention of an "illegal alien" in our community undermines the trust and relationship with our law enforcers. Of course, Mr. Gustavo Andrade of CASA of Maryland would say that because the organization advocates for all illegal aliens.

Where is The Gazette's "fair reporting" in this? Why didn't you get an opinion from someone who is opposed to illegal immigration? Why not go into detail and say this person that was detained is an illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member? How many more citizens, legal residents, taxpayers of our county must die before you stop protecting all illegals?

For once, please help keep our community safe and work for the law-abiding legal residents and citizens of our county.

Thank you for listening.

Froilan Ignacio, Silver Spring