Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President,

I’m writing to you not as a politician or activist, but as an ordinary American — an older citizen who’s lived in Chicago all my life, paid my taxes, raised a family, and believed in the values this country stands for.

Lately, I’ve been reading the news about ICE and DHS conducting raids that sound more like military missions than law enforcement — helicopters, armored gear, people being grabbed in their homes, children screaming in fear. I can’t tell you how much that breaks my heart. This isn’t the America I grew up believing in.

I know our country needs border security. Nobody’s arguing against that. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. When federal agents show up in neighborhoods like they’re invading a foreign country — when citizens and legal residents are getting questioned or detained by mistake — something’s gone terribly off course.

These are families we’re talking about. Moms, dads, kids. Some of them probably came here chasing the same dream my grandparents did when they arrived from Europe decades ago. They worked hard, played by the rules, and built lives here. I see the same spirit in the immigrants of today, yet it feels like we’ve forgotten that they’re human beings too.

And what message are we sending our own children when they see people treated this way? Fear doesn’t build respect for the law — it tears it down. Trust between communities and the government is something precious; once it’s gone, it’s hard to get back.

Mr. President, I voted for people who promised compassion and common sense. I still want to believe those things mean something. Please, use your office to bring back balance and decency to how we handle immigration enforcement. There’s got to be a way to keep America safe without making our neighborhoods feel like war zones.

I may be just one person from Chicago, but I’ve seen enough in my lifetime to know when something’s wrong. And what’s happening now feels wrong. We can be better than this — we are better than this.

Thank you for listening. I truly hope you’ll take this to heart.