Letters to the Editor: Help those affected by ICE, are Flock cameras bad, are we in WWIII?

EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

Glimpse into hell

Will future generations point at you one day and ask, “Why did you not speak up about the demonic conditions in ICE detention camps? Why did you not save lives?” Learn the truth!

Jonathan Blitzer’s article “Locked Away,” in the July 20 issue of The New Yorker Magazine, shares the dehumanization, abuse, terror and outright cruelty intentionally perpetrated on vulnerable immigrants. Billions of your tax dollars are making camp operators rich as they profit from cruelty. “Locked Away” is a glimpse into hell at the largest ICE Camp in the U.S. 

At Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, ICE detainees suffer and claim they will probably leave the camp — either through suicide or through self-deportation. Conditions are bleak:

• Immigrants, the majority without criminal pasts, arrive from cities throughout the country. They have no immediate contact with relatives or attorneys, no Due Process, no information about length of stay. 
• ICE personnel show no concern for their medical conditions and deny them medicine. Guards anticipate that withholding medicine may lead to sickness and acceptance to self-deport.
• Worse than prison, cells are cramped and unsanitary with 35 bunk beds. Toilets and beds are close to each other and seldom cleaned. 
• There is little to do, seldom the right to exercise or move about or breathe fresh air. Food is often spoiled and inadequate. 
• Detainees claim that guards bet large quantities of money on how much time will pass before certain detainees attempt suicide.
• Some detainees allege physical abuse, beatings, and even drives along the Mexican border to scare them into submission.
• Detainees who complain or snitch find themselves in solitary confinement or moved.
• Those who choose to self-deport to save their own lives are not sent to their countries of origin — but to lands far away. 

Approximately 60,000 immigrants, real human beings, are currently living a life of hell in ICE Camps. Speak up and stop ICE from profiting from cruelty.

Jo Bird
Holland

World War III

In my opinion, we are now in the midst of a world war, which has been expanding month by month. 

Here is some of the evidence:

1. Russia and Ukraine have been fighting for over four years.
2. Iran is helping Russia with drones, and China is also supporting Russia and buying Iranian oil.
3. North Korea is sending tens of thousands of soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, since Russia is running out of Russians to fight its war.
4. Russia recently lobbed a missile into Poland and is helping Iran with its intelligence, thus helping Iran kill American soldiers.
5. Israel and the United States attacked Iran, a war which Trump promised would be over in weeks. It has now extended into months of war.
6. Iran has attacked the Gulf states, and now Egypt and Saudi Arabia are getting more and more involved.
7. Israel is attacking Hamas, an Iranian proxy.
8. China is supposedly sending anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.
9. The EU supports Ukraine with money and weapons, along with the United States.
10. World trade has been disrupted by this war, affecting the world's economy, especially with rising energy costs. Trump did not start this world war, but he escalated it by jumping in along with Israel to attack Iran. ... We have been supplying Israel with weapons to destroy Gaza, along with its weapons to attack  Iran.

Trump's most memorable legacy will be his choice to go to war with Iran, and the history books will not be kind.

Henry Idema
Grand Haven

The GLOVE: ICE’s tool of torture

As a decent human being and as an American, I am appalled by Homeland Security/ICE’s plan to spend up to $20 million for GLOVES for its agents. The GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) can deliver an electric shock powerful enough to knock an immigrant being detained to the ground.

Low-trained and power-hungry agents could soon use these tools of torture, at their own discretion, against vulnerable immigrants. The vast majority of these men, women and children have no criminal record, work and pay taxes in communities and simply seek a better life in America. 

The cruelty of ICE is an abomination. The GLOVE itself, the fear and panic it could cause and the waste of American tax dollars to hurt people is horrendous. How many innocent families could suffer misery and/or death on the streets, or in ICE detention camps due to this tool?

Psalm 24:3.4 says, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart ...” 

Does ICE operate with clean hands and pure hearts? Why do masked agents seem to move without morality and outside of the rule of law?

Money and power seem to rule. In July 2025, Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill Act” delegated $75 billion to ICE. Republicans in Congress recently approved an additional $70 billion to last until 2029. How tragic that billions fund traumatizing poor immigrants while enriching the companies running ICE detention camps. 

Stop the $20 million purchase of the GLOVE under the protection of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Stop cruel and unusual punishment! 

Jo Bird
Holland

Flock you!

“I have blisters on my fingers,” quoting Ringo Starr after playing Helter Skelter on the Beatles' "White Album." My blisters are from my keyboard while trying to get the skinny on Flock Safety cameras or possibly trying to cling on to the sides of the rabbit hole I had to slide down to get information.

It has been recently reported in our area that several suspects have been apprehended through the use of information collected by Flock cameras. It has also been reported that Flock camera information allegedly was used inappropriately by a law-enforcement official.

Both good and bad uses of this technology. In the case of the police department, they have rules:

• Only specific, vetted law enforcement users in approved roles can log in and run searches.
• Officers must tie every search to a specific, defined investigative reason.
• Federal agencies like ICE do not get direct or default access; local data owners or participating agencies must explicitly grant permission.

What was that old adage? Oh yeah: "Rules are meant to be broken."

Take, for example, the internet or AI. Both can or will be a great thing for mankind, but only if the rules of use are followed. We all know that hasn’t happened. However, here is another old adage: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater."

Police departments across the nation need to keep working on protecting us from the misuse of this tool. That’s what they do, and I personally thank them for it.

From what I have gleaned from the info I have found is that personal privacy can fall into two concepts: "Privacy of tangible and physical space and privacy of the intangible world of personal decisions and thoughts.” The tangible and physical space is like your home, your body, and your stuff like a backpack, mail, prescriptions, et cetera.

The intangible world is like: who to love, dreams, fears, secrets, and anything you want to keep private until you don’t.

Civil rights protect us from state control and government overreach.

They are: freedom of expression, religion, personal safety, the right to bear arms, and right to a fair trial. These branch off into due process, a jury of peers, faith, et cetera.

Finally, I don’t see how the use of Flock cameras, when used correctly, is violating either our private or civil rights. You do not have the right to speed, run red lights, drive away after breaking into a home or business, or flee the scene of an accident. In other words, you do not have the right to break the law and cry about being caught because the police saw you do it on a Flock camera.

If you don’t agree with my opinion, please use your right to freedom of expression and send it in to ONN.

Bill Fey
Holland

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