Abducting children, killing protesters. Trump’s private army knows no shame | Opinion

Abducting children

On Jan. 20, in Minnesota, 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by ICE and sent to a detention center in Texas with his father. Columbia Heights Public Schools said Liam is the fourth child from his school district to be taken by ICE.

You may remember seeing the picture of Liam as he was picked up by ICE. An innocent child with a large blue hat with a bunny face and ears—an image many of us will not forget.

On Jan. 22, Vice President J. D. Vance, defending the ICE action, said: “…what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?”

No, Vice President Vance, they are not to let a child freeze to death.

But ICE Directive 11064.4, dated July 2, 2025, tells them exactly what to do: “…ICE personnel must contact the local child welfare authority or local law enforcement agency to take custody of the minor child(ren)…..Unless ICE is effectuating an enforcement action against the minor child(ren), ICE personnel should not, under any circumstances, take custody of or transport the minor child(ren)….ICE should remain on the scene with the Covered Individual [adult being arrested] until…the local child welfare authority or law enforcement agency assumes physical custody of the minor child(ren).”

The Trump administration does not abide by the law or its own regulations. And our children suffer!

Shame!

Mary Lynn Collins, Frankfort

Appropriate measures

If six ICE agents carrying guns can’t subdue one guy carrying a holstered gun so they end up shooting him 10 times, it makes one wonder what type of training their so-called officers have had. My son was part of a six-man U.S. Marshals fugitive task force for years chasing the worst -of-the-worst. Never in that time did they have to shoot anyone. They were professionals. That speaks for itself.

Bob Sutton, Springfield

Goodbye, NRA

I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon, and do so everywhere it is legal. I am also a member of the NRA because, in my view, despite the organization’s flaws, it is the only lobby group strong enough to protect 2nd Amendment rights.

During the Clinton administration, the NRA called federal agents “jack-booted thugs.” But the organization has refused to condemn the murder of Alex Pretti which President Donald Trump and his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem say was justified because he was exercising his 2nd Amendment rights.

It seems that the NRA’s fealty to this president “trumps” its commitment to defending 2nd Amendment rights.

Goodbye NRA, you will never receive another cent from me.

Chris Flaherty, Mt. Sterling

Trump’s ICE

President Donald Trump loves appropriating for himself, renaming and rebranding our country’s heritage. There seems little doubt he’s now re-cultured the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in his image as he did the Republican Party, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Senate, etc. The “intensive training” DHS leaders cite in defense of their anti-American behavior looks to be inspired by the Hell’s Angels, J6 insurrectionists, Proud Boys, and others he clearly admires.

He deserves the full credit and naming rights. Perhaps he’ll call it TRUMP ICE.

One can’t help wondering, WWJD.

Susan Slade, Lexington

Barr on ICE

As a resident of the 6th Congressional District, I can only hope that we do not have to face the conditions now being faced in Minnesota. U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., obviously encourages and supports the tactics and the use of federal forces in Minneapolis, and would surely support them in his own district. He has given no indication that he would not.

It is regrettable the hopes of getting a political endorsement from President Donald Trump relies on supporting practices and policies which are designed to ensure division and mayhem in our communities. Many government officials feign great public indignation but continue to blame the victims.

I lack confidence Barr would have any different feelings if the location of such activity was the 6th Congressional District. It would be disingenuous to take a different position, although I doubt this would be a problem for Barr. As with many issues, Barr’s silence is deafening, and his strategy of not speaking out in order to avoid any negative perceptions is wearing thin.

Charles Myers, Lexington

Training ICE

I had a letter published months ago about federal forces being in California, stating it was beginning to look like a police state, and to vote Republicans out of office.

Now that we see Minneapolis today, it wasn’t too soon to point out what I thought. We don’t have to wonder how on earth a Hitler/Holocaust can happen.

The ICE thugs seem un-American in their brutality. Are they the insurrectionists that President Trump pardoned and/or criminals freed from prison? We aren’t told. They’re wearing masks, carrying chemicals and firearms, jumping protesters, detaining a kid. We’ve spent a lot of money training our local police, but these ICE thugs appear to have had little training at all.

When Republicans held up “Mass Deportation Now” signs at their convention, I don’t think they knew what they would be getting.

The midterms are where we must act, including keeping Trump Republicans from trying again to mess with our right to vote. We are a leading democracy, but Trump and his administration don’t seem to care. We citizens do vote against the Republican Party.

We are all migrants, sooner or later. It’s time we appreciated us/U.S.

Ramona Rush, Lexington

Patriotic protests

DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTISM When you know something is wrong. When you see something is wrong. When you see the evil, the death, the abduction of children, the separation of families, the abduction of adults, the violence; it is time to dissent. Remember the treatment of the blacks and some whites in Selma, in Birmingham, on the Edmund Pettus Bridge? The difference is that now the violence is against the citizens of Minneapolis — decent, every day, hardworking folks who are defending their neighbors, their families, their children, democracy and the Constitution.

This is the Nazi play book. But we have brave citizens who are standing up for everyone’s rights. Do not be like so many German citizens who did nothing, and then reaped the destruction of the Third Reich on their homes, families and loved ones. Protest ICE and their puppy-killing leader, and the wanna-be Nazi leading the Border Patrol with his Nazi salutes and flowing Reichsmarschall overcoat.

Damn them to hell.

David O. Smith, Corbin

Minnesota blackmail

U. S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s extortion letter to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, demanding voting records and other demographic data of Minnesota citizens and residents in essence holding that population as hostages under threat of continued violence, is proof of federally-sponsored terrorism, with an operation having nothing at all to do with Immigration law enforcement. It is a political pressure campaign using violence to achieve political goals. The entire Trump administration needs to be indicted for terrorism. The DOJ, by delivering the demand for ransom, is the epitome of racketeering and robbery. FBI Director Kash Patel being complicit in this racket is equally as guilty.

This has become a Kakistocracy not a Constitutional Republic.

Robert Moreland, Lexington

Trump’s healthcare plan

President Donald Trump is working to completely destroy the Affordable Care Act, a policy that made health care affordable for millions of people. Trump’s only plan is to put all health care coverage options back in the hands of his insurance billionaire buddies. He could not care less about making health care affordable.

Insurance companies are out to get as much of our money as possible. Their only guiding principle is greed. Greed is never satisfied. Many will not qualify for health insurance because of pre-existing conditions, and many will not be able to afford their insurance premiums – including millions of young families, older adults, and my former seminary students who pastor churches. Coverage for major health problems will be rejected. Many people suffering with major illness will lose everything they have - their savings, their homes, and their dignity. Many will die who could have lived.

Greedy insurance CEOs should not have control over our health or our finances. Trump and GOP Congress members never intended to develop a plan. They cannot even identify “concepts” of a plan. Trump is a sociopath and a lifelong fraud.

How painful will reality have to get before “we the people” revolt?

Beverly C. Johnson-Miller, Lexington

Poor snow cleanup

Once again, our city administration has failed to rise to the occasion. Most of the downtown side roads, as well as the roads off main arteries, like Tates Creek Road, are in deplorable condition. If the city has ever gotten to the point of plowing some of these roads, you cannot tell it because snow and ice has already been worn down and compacted by traffic. How many times do we have to suffer this kind of response from the city administration? This administration is deplorable from the very top down. Unfortunately, our Mayor is a small ball lost in tall weeds and most of those under her are just as bad.

Richard Getty, Lexington

Immigrant assistance

It’s Sunday Jan. 25 and miserably cold. However, we woke up to the lovely sound of snow being shoveled! As we are elderly, we are so grateful. And the good folks who provided this service are exactly the same folks that ICE wants to round up and shoot.

Makes one think, doesn’t it?

Esther Murphy, Lexington

Edited by Liz Carey