Letters to the editor Feb. 8

Rule of law

I am a dual citizen who went through the legal immigration and naturalization process the right way. It took seven years, significant expense, and no shortage of intrusive questions and scrutiny. My wife, a U.S. citizen, endured that process alongside me. It was not easy — but we accepted it because we believed the rules should apply equally to everyone.

That is why it is deeply frustrating to see individuals who are in this country illegally appear to move to the front of the line for benefits and protection, while those who followed the law are told to wait, comply, and pay. A system that rewards rule-breaking while penalizing rule-following is not compassionate, it is unfair.

I come from an exceptional country. But in terms of freedom, opportunity, and the potential to build a better life, I know of no place that compares to the United States. Those values are precisely why people want to come here. Preserving them requires something fundamental: respect for the rule of law.

Supporting legal immigration and expecting our laws to be enforced are not opposing ideas. They are inseparable. A nation without consistent enforcement ceases to be welcoming, because fairness disappears — and trust along with it.

We can be a country of immigrants and a country of laws. In fact, we must be both.

— Marc Liechti, Lakeside

Why I protest

A friend asked me why I went to the ICE Out protest in Polson on Jan. 31. Let me explain.

Some 250 years ago, our forefathers risked life and home to fight a revolution against a tyrannical government, such as the one I see rising today. 

They wrote the Declaration of Independence saying “all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” and the purpose of government is to protect these rights, deriving it’s power from the “consent of the governed.” They wrote the Bill of Rights to guarantee our “unalienable rights.” Today, I see that protection of our rights crumbling.

They wrote our Constitution providing for division of power among three branches of government and set up checks and balances to prevent any branch from gaining absolute power. Today, I see that system crumbling.

I worry about the direction our country is heading. So I went to the protest in the hope that the “unalienable rights” our forefathers fought to establish will be preserved for the upcoming generations.

— Linda Hewitt, Polson

Homeland Security

The late Montana Supreme Court Justice Frank Morrison warned us that Homeland Security, a war time creation, should not exist once the war for which it was created ended.  

It wasn’t removed and has several Martial Law contentions. The most odious of which is that we who live within 100 miles of a border have no civil rights.  Homeland Security presently is trying to make that a fact. All of the states on which they have made attack fit that description. Other claims were fulfilled months ago. 

I for one, contend that American citizens, people on a path to citizenship, Native Americans, people of all colors, including children, have continued protection under the Constitution. Homeland Security and their barbarian wing ICE challenge that.  

— Donna Maddux, Whitefish