Many thanks to the Butler Eagle for printing the courageous article about issues local immigrant communities face regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in our area and the nonprofit groups and individuals who assist them with those issues (“Nonprofits aim to support immigrant communities,” Feb. 22, Page A2).

A previous article in the Eagle (“ICE: 36 arrested in county so far,” Feb. 15, Page A1) contained statements from local law enforcement that would lead one to believe that ICE arrests only the “worst of the worst” illegal immigrants with criminal records, always with an arrest warrant in hand. The later article reveals the truth: ICE has arrested and detained both legal and illegal immigrants, with or without a warrant, no criminal records required. (Just ask the 5-year-old in Minnesota.)

Federal judges across the country have decried ICE’s lack of compliance with court rulings. Is this the new definition of “law and order” in our country? That the president’s word is “supreme law” and all laws to the contrary are to be ignored? Isn’t that a bit like a king’s rule, resurrected 250 years later?

I believe it took courage for the Butler Eagle to print this article, and it takes courage for groups like Frontline Dignity and Casa San Jose to confront the reckless and criminal excesses of ICE. A courageous citizenry and free press are part of what it will take to forestall this autocratic takeover of our constitutional democracy.

Joseph P. McMurry,

Butler Township