LETTER: Where is our humanity?
Caring readers are in the Observer-Reporter’s debt for its extensive reporting and editorializing on the plight of Jesus Teran, a migrant who fled violence in Venezuela, established himself in our area as a dedicated worker, a man who is devoted to his family, and a positive influence in his community (“Weight of the Wait,” “The Immigrants Deserve Better,” Aug. 10).
In conjunction with the Trump administration’s pledge to oust every “illegal” from our country, Mr. Teran was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and is now residing at a detention facility in Philipsburg, far from his home in Western Pennsylvania, and a place in which there have been widespread reports of inhumane conditions including vastly overcrowded living spaces.
No one could make a reasonable argument to protect those who are here in violation of the law and have committed violent crimes, but what of the vast majority who have been apprehended, but have committed no crime or perhaps had accumulated simply a traffic ticket? A first-time immigration offender may be convicted of a misdemeanor, not a felony. Do we assert carte blanche to round up these individuals and treat them as if they are heinous criminals?
Where is our humanity? What has happened to our religious tenets? Do we set aside both as we bow to a president who seeks to inflict pain and suffering on so many who are undeserving of such treatment?
Oren Spiegler
Peters Township