Illegal immigration has become an emotional issue in the media. If America is a nation of laws, citizens should obey them. If they are not good laws, they should be changed. Many regulations and rules have the force of law.

Several cities and states call themselves sanctuaries. That means officials arrest illegals who perform criminal acts, but do not notify immigration authorities who can deport them. Those illegals, after release, continue as a threat to the community.

Does that make sense to law-abiding citizens?

At the border, whole families come to the U.S. illegally. If the parents are arrested for illegal acts and jailed, should their children be in jail with them? Of course not. But an emotional issue has developed in separating children from those parents. What is the solution? Should the entire family be deported, as the law requires for illegal entry into the United States?

Does the U.S. have an obligation to accept all who come across its borders illegally? Is that fair to those people who have waited several years to apply and be processed the legal way?

Democrats in the U.S. Senate have enough votes to block anything the Trump administration wants to do. Those same Democrats have used the emotion surrounding illegal immigrant children as a political shield for their negligence in enforcing U.S. laws. They should act like responsible leaders or get another job. Maine’s Democrats should follow.

Thomas Shields, Auburn

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