Matilda K. Williams Seminole, OK

I usually don’t respond to replies to my letters to the editor. I’m entitled to my opinion. So is everyone else entitled to theirs. However, this time it feels like there is a truth at stake.

Mr. Richard M. Vickery replied on June 10th to my letter of May 28th. He took issue with my characterization of the Abrego Garcia case. I hope he didn’t miss the point of my letter, which was a return to compassion as a value for Americans. However, as to the Abrego Garcia case, Mr. Vickery made certain allegations of his own against Mr. Garcia, namely that he:

• “is in the USA illegally” and “is a criminal for that reason alone”

• “has been found to be a member of the terrorist gang M=13”

• “is a human trafficker, a wife beater, and who knows what else”

• “is a violent criminal alien and does not have any right to be in the United States of America” Actually, if one believes in the principles of Law and Order, none of these allegations are true until a judge and jury say they are true. That’s exactly what “due process” is – determination of the truth based on the rules of evidence. And that’s exactly what my letter called for in the Abrego Garcia case.

FYI, Mr. Garcia is back in the country, and has been charged with human trafficking, based on a traffic stop in 2022, in which 9 other Hispanics were in his car. No charges were entered in this case for 3 years until now. He has pled Not Guilty and requested to be released on bail before trial. The Judge in this case is a Magistrate Judge, i.e. not appointed by either a Democrat or a Republican, hence about as “neutral” as a judge can be.

Judge Barbara D. Holmes has stated she is considering the bail request because the federal prosecutor’s case rests on the testimony of five “cooperating witnesses,” four of whom belong to the same family, and three of whom are possibly cooperating because their own freedom depends on it.

It may be that this case is another house of cards from the Trump administration. Or it may turn out that Mr. Garcia is guilty. I hope we come to some resolution one way or another, in favor of “Due Process” in America.

We made a Revolution to get away from kings who could do whatever they want, including incarcerate whoever they want, just on their say-so. I have ancestors who fought in that war. Once upon a time, a good many of us were immigrants!