To the editor:

With all of the chaos the MAGA regime is generating and so many options to choose from, I write about the most concerning one to me. This one literally takes place in my own backyard.

On June 10, seven young men were picked up by federal agents at the nail salon where they worked in Potsdam. The home they shared on a quiet lane in Colton had the door bashed in, the house ransacked, a condemned sign attached and crime tape draped around the property. Questioning neighbors were told this was an “active crime scene,” a “victim complaint” and they had no information they could release to the public.

It has been about six weeks now and we hear nothing of the fate of these young neighbors. They certainly seemed harmless, playing badminton in the yard, cooking out in the evening and always ready to give a friendly smile and a wave hello.

The only crime so far seemed to be that they did not look or speak a lot like the rest of us. They carried legal working papers and were sponsored by a family of U.S. citizens to lawfully be in America. It seems that criminal or law abiding, the new message is: “We will get you, we want you gone.” These raids, first in cities and now in small towns and villages are to spread fear and hate, letting us know that these much-needed workers are actually the enemy within America.

Unfortunately, the immigrant we have been told to fear, the so-called “worst of the worst,” have actually turned out to be the folks working our low paying jobs, the ones most do not care to do. They care for our elderly, our children; clean our offices, hospitals and resorts. They harvest our crops, milk our dairy cows and saw lumber that helps build our homes.

Federal agents admit that morale among them is low. They have had to set aside criminal investigations to concentrate on arresting 3,000 immigrants that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has ordered them to round up or risk losing their jobs.

We have a broken immigration system that detention centers and arrest quotas will never fix. Meanwhile, our Congress and Senate are totally inept, afraid to vote the wishes of their constituents, fearing the wrath of their leaders.

We need to elect leaders that have the guts to work together to fix America’s problems; to restore the rule of law and follow the Constitution that our country was founded on.

Our issues may be many, but gutting the agencies that head the problem solving and lining the pockets of the absurdly rich is not the solution.

So, America please get your heads out of the sand and stop being distracted by this constant barrage of “smoke and mirrors” while real people are being hurt; real lives are being destroyed. Don’t think it can’t happen to you, don’t think it can’t happen to people you know.

Sally Seymour

Colton