When an undocumented immigrant commits a serious crime
Re: “Murder suspect was deported in 2007 and arrested twice,” Feb. 23 news story.
Donald Trump, as part of his campaign and since the election, has shamefully exploited specific cases of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants to justify his harsh proposals and actions against the entire undocumented population, even those who have committed no such crimes.
The Denver Post’s article on Norlan Estrada-Reyes, by not referring to broader data about the impact of undocumented immigrants on crime rates and safety, only fans the flames that Trump has ignited. Estrada-Reyes’ previous incidents, specifically the DUI case, suggest a missed opportunity to take action that could have saved a life. But in the current climate, presenting this case without referencing the fact that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born U.S. population serves only to further marginalize the entire undocumented population for reasons unsupported by the data. Brian Linde, Denver
There is always an outcry when a “bad guy” is let out of jail and later injures or kills a citizen — as there should be.
If the citizens ever want to act on their displeasure, maybe they should consider changing their voting practices regarding the elected and appointed officials and judges who facilitate the tragedies with light sentences, failures to prosecute, plea bargains, early outs, failures to turn inmates over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and sanctuary cities.
And if there are so many “bad guys” in the community that jails get overcrowded, the community should build more jails rather than letting more of them get out of jail early. Tom Saunders, Aurora