To the editor: As we learn of hundreds of young men hauled off in shackles — with zero due process — to a brutal El Salvadorian prison, it is clear that cruelty is not a byproduct, but rather the point for this administration (“They were called gang members and deported. Families say their only crime was having tattoos,” March 23). We have evidence some were not affiliated with gangs. Not a hint of regret for those whose only offense was escaping tyranny and torture in Venezuela and who now find themselves in a living hell.
Immigration falls under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security headed by Kristi Noem. She appears to have auditioned for the role with the release of her book last year containing a tough-gal brag about shooting her dog and goat. Their offenses? Annoying her. In any normal world, this admission would have been a nonstarter for a position of power. Not in Trump’s America. Is it any wonder this is where we are as a country — when cruelty is sport and celebrated by the powers that be?
Cathy Goldberg, Seal Beach
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To the editor: The Alien Enemies Act, which is Trump’s excuse for deporting people to El Salvador, only applies in wartime. The power to declare war, like the power of the purse, is expressly under the authority of the legislative branch. We are not at war just because Trump says we are.
Scott McKenzie, La Canada
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To the editor: President Trump cannot be allowed to round up any group of people in our country and perform all of the “due process” within the executive branch. He cannot go on to pay El Salvador to apply prison time while avoiding an American court of law, presumably because it is more convenient. That is unconstitutional.
Douglas Chapman, Santa Ana
