Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Thomas Hill

To the Editor:

I would like to make two comments regarding Mr. Lowell Engle’s letter to the editor (April 8, 2026).

First, Mr. Engle appears to believe that all “illegal” behaviors are the same and should be treated the same. However, our legal system makes a distinction between “civil” and “criminal” actions, and they carry different penalties.

Most Americans do not think living in the U.S. without documentation or overstaying permission to be in the U.S. are the same as committing a violent act. For the last 30 years administrations of both parties before Trump’s have held that immigrants who have lived in this country for years could be subjected to detention and deportation only if they were deemed, after a judicial hearing, to be a danger to society or a flight risk.

Second, Mr. Engle does not appear to realize that the Constitution applies not only to citizens, but to all “persons” in the U.S., and as a result, grants certain rights to everyone including undocumented immigrants.  They are protected by the Fourth Amendment which protects the sanctity of the home and requires a judicial warrant to violate that sanctity. They are also protected by the Fifth Amendment which guarantees due process of law and forbids arresting and taking people out of the country without any judicial review. Numerous federal judges have found that ICE agents have continually violated these protections.

Mr. Engle and I agree that our immigration policies need to be reformed, but the Trump administration’s approach is not the answer. It is not only often illegal and cruel, but it also harms our economy and country. America can do better than that.

Thomas Hill
Lansing/Cedar Falls