Tucson Speaks Out: May 27 letters of the day

8 U.S.C. 1325 Improper Entry by Alien

There is a federal criminal statute, 8 U.S.C. 1325 Improper Entry by Alien. It reads, “Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under Title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.” When people enter in between the ports of entry they are committing a federal crime. They have not entered “undocumented,” but illegally. They are not “undocumented immigrants” as after apprehension, the Border Patrol processes and “documents” them. And frankly, these people are not “migrants” as historically the term meant migratory and transitory, moving back and forth from place to place. Not moving for permanency. Using benign terms such as “undocumented” and “migrant” are intentionally used to disguise and remove the illegality that is engaged in.

Martin Wagman

Green Valley

Presidential poll results

Lately, several polls have shown Biden and Trump in a close race, much to the surprise of some political “experts.” Among the possible reasons why Biden is not way ahead are: The cost of living is up 19% since he took office. Over the past nine months, the record national debt has been rising about one trillion dollars every 100 days while Biden forgives some 180 billion in student loans. Credit card debt has reached record highs, as have delinquencies. Gasoline is still up 52% after having peaked way up 100% in 2022. We have spent about $200 billion assisting Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia about 13 months into Biden’s term. The wealth gap has been rising, with Blacks and Hispanics losing more ground. And there is the continuing border situation, including increased deaths in the desert. With an opponent like Trump, Biden could have an easy victory. His record is holding him back.

Matthew Scully

Sahuarita

Parking at the pump

I don’t know if this is just an Arizona thing (I’m originally from the East Coast), but it drives me nuts when I pull into a gas station and can’t get to a pump because people decide to park at the pump before heading into the store to do whatever. I pulled into a station today and luckily there was an open pump. The station only had four pumps, and two of them had empty cars occupying the space. Owners were nowhere to be found. As I was filling up, a woman finally walked up to her car, then proceeded to begin pumping gas and washing her windows. This, after her car was already sitting there for at least seven minutes. Other potential customers ended up giving up and headed elsewhere. There were plenty of standard parking spaces available, by the way. Station managers should disallow this. They’re losing business because of it.

Bob Crowley

Oro Valley

Healthcare frustrations

A patient who was frustrated with a delay in testing recently told me, “I now understand why Medicare pays you all less yearly.” The people suffering from broken health care are undoubtedly the patients, but doctors and nurses are not OK either. Unless we attend to this fact, none of us will be assured of getting health care when we need it the most. I have personally seen four excellent surgeons close our practices due to rising costs/inflation coupled with yearly cuts in reimbursement. I recently went to DC to meet with legislative staff of Senators Sinema and Kelly, and Representatives Gallego and Ciscomani to share my story and how it affected the patients that had depended on me for 16 years in Oro Valley. My experience is not isolated. There are many opportunities for improvement in U.S. health care, but most immediately, we must support adequate Insurance payments to assure adequate healthcare staffing in our communities.

Sarah Lee-Davisson, MD

Midtown

Modern Day SCOTUS

Many years ago, I asked my husband, a law professor at the University of Arizona College of Law, if in his wildest dreams he ever dreamt of becoming a United States Supreme Court Justice? His answer was swift. Absolutely not. It’s the loneliest job in the world, he said. (Socializing was frowned upon for fear of the appearance of influence). That was then, this is now. Then, there never was the likes of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Alito Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Thomas — they, all four, infect our Judicial system leaving a lasting stain on what was once held up to the world as the paragon of justice. Now, we no longer hold claim.

Brenda Wexler

Midtown

Act is response to Biden’s open border

The AZ state Legislature is attempting to place HCR2060, Secure the Border Act, on the ballot for voters to decide. This Republican ballot initiative is a direct result of Biden’s open borders. Under Biden’s term, the U.S. Border Patrol has encountered over 7 million foreign nationals illegally entering the country in between the ports of entry. About 1.6 million have entered illegally, eluding Border Patrol apprehension. We know nothing at all about those people, except they are here. During Hobbs’ ad campaign for Governor, she strutted along the border wall wearing cowboy boots, promising to keep Arizona secure. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from around the world have entered through the Tohono O’Odham reservation, where there is no border wall. When was the last time Hobbs visited that area? Over 30,000 a month are still illegally entering the state. Biden and Hobbs have failed to secure the border and failed to protect the public safety of Arizonans. Let’s put this referendum on the ballot.

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Michael Wayne

Midtown

Trivia question

To The Editor:

A question — why is the GOP “Veepstakes” competition similar to a limbo contest? Answer: Because the winner will be the one who can go the lowest.

Gary Hammond

SaddleBrooke

What water crisis?

I moved to Green Valley three years ago with dreams of retirement spent gazing at the Santa Rita mountains. I’m now considering putting my house on the market if Hudbay’s Copper World mine gets approved. There will be four open pits, each over a mile wide, and much of the northern ridge of the Santa Ritas removed. It will be an eyesore and devastating for wildlife.

Unfortunately, this pales when considering the amount of water the mine will suck up. According to Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Hudbay provided no information in 2023 about projected water consumption other than stating it has a permit to use up to 2 billion gallons per year. It’s anticipated Hudbay will amend the permit beyond 2 billion gallons/year. Wonder what will be left for the rest of us?

Please get involved. The water and air permits for the mine still need approval. Check out the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas website. I don’t want to have to move again.

Alaina Giltz

Green Valley

Re-Elect Judge Kendrick Wilson

Arizona does not require a Justice of the Peace to be a lawyer or have any legal training. Increasingly, the decisions made by these judges require knowledge of case law and statutes. Judge Wilson presides over domestic violence court as well as animal abuse cases. These cases require decisions, based on the law, regarding whether someone should lose their right to possess firearms, questions of prohibiting contact with victims and, in the case of animal abuse, whether an owner forfeits their animal or whether it must be put down. Judge Wilson bases his decisions on his experience as a former prosecutor and his legal training. It is vitally important to the community that we retain some legally trained and knowledgeable people as judges in these courts. Judge Wilson is one of the few lawyers left on our Justice Court bench. It would be wise to return him there this election.

Rick Unklesbay

Midtown

Trumped-up

As of this writing, Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter, has been held in Russia on trumped-up espionage charges for 100 days. He may be held until November on Donald Trumped-up charges. Trump, in one of his diatribes, stated that upon his election, Putin will release Evan. Giving no thought to the Biden administration’s efforts towards Evan’s release, nor showing any empathy towards Evan’s family, Trump constructed this obvious lie. How low can Trump go? Oh, he’ll find a way to sink even lower as time goes by, but, using Evan as a pawn for his effort to show his ‘relationship’ with Putin will be difficult to beat. However, to date, his using Evan in this manner is truly the most despicable utterance Trump has made to date. Trump is a very dangerous man, and if you are thinking about voting for him, well, get over it.

Jon Langione

Marana