The president set the stage for Pretti’s death
Flushing: I want to thank the Daily News for leading off with Voicer Charles T. Compton’s letter. Any insight into the thought processes of people like him is informative and amusing, if a bit depressing as well.
Alex Pretti had every right to carry the gun for which he had a permit — a gun that was never in his hand at any point during this incident. His “agitating violently” seems to include coming to the aid of a woman being roughed up by a Border Patrol agent.
If these federal agents had been properly trained, Pretti would still be alive. Instead, the agents freaked at finding Pretti’s weapon, a discovery they made while beating him as he was laid out and helpless on the ground. They panicked and did what they did.
Sending ICE to Minnesota in the first place puzzles me. President Trump claimed something on his social media about Somali immigrants involvement in a health insurance fraud case as his rationale. The case had already been investigated and prosecuted under the Joe Biden administration. What was ICE supposed to do here? Do these agents have policy expertise in health insurance fraud, accounting, law, etc.? Many of them seemed to have trouble just passing the weak recruitment test or physical, two extremely low bars.
So, it boils down to this: Pretti is a domestic terrorist but Kyle Rittenhouse is an American patriot? Have I got that right? Clyde Kerlew
Subdued, then shot
Madisonville, Pa.: A recent letter concerning the death of Alex Pretti was again a MAGA attempt to blame the victim for being killed. Pretti had been taken to the ground and disarmed by a host of Border Patrol agents. At that point, it is impossible to see him as some continuing threat. And yet he was shot — in the back! That’s an execution. That’s murder. No amount of spin can change that. Tom Mielczarek
Lethal regime
Brooklyn: Trump tells Iran to stop killing protesters. In other words, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Paul Ricketts
Prior killings
Seaford, L.I.: Voicers Ora Reed and Chalky White, in typical liberal fashion, avoided the main point of my letter. ICE agents killed dozens of people under Obama’s deportation exercises! Where was your and the left’s outrage when this happened? No conservatives took to the streets to obstruct ICE’s operations, yet more people lost their lives under Obama’s deportations. With your blindness, you proved my point that this is all about your hatred for this president, and you could care less about those who are killed. Otherwise, you would have stood up for those other people. Tom Ascher
Folded again
Manhattan: Chuck Schumer did it again. The Senate Democratic leader negotiated with Trump instead of having his united caucus just vote no on the DHS’ appropriations bill and stopping it in its tracks. Schumer has given the GOP two weeks to break the Democrats’ resolve. Their demands are ridiculously modest. ICE should go back to acting the way it did before Trump unrolled his plan for an all-white America. ICE used to use valid warrants to arrest specific people, not detain them in random sweeps or break down their doors justified by phony paperwork. The vast majority of Americans are horrified by ICE tactics and recoil at the sight of masked agents with military weapons tear-gassing and pepper-spraying peaceful observers in their own neighborhoods. People-powered resistance is accelerating. Nearly half of Americans want ICE defunded entirely. Schumer should be driven out of office if he doesn’t at least curb ICE’s lawless cruelty. Carol Hillson
Stolen sovereignty
Bronx: The audience stood and applauded at the Grammys when Bad Bunny declared his opposition to ICE. The 3.1 million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico live under an unequal/undemocratic status as an American territory. Where is the moral outrage about that? Gene Roman
Projected conditions
Brooklyn: Trump will shut down the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for approximately two years. Why? Because he claims it’s “broken, tired, dilapidated, in tremendous disrepair and bad condition.” Sounds like he’s describing himself. Will he shut himself down? One can only hope. Robert Braunstein
Easy on the eyes
Brooklyn: As a longtime reader of the Daily News, these old eyes want to offer their heartfelt and eye-felt thanks for your conversion to a much more easy-to-read type style. Starting my morning with a little less eye strain is quite welcome and might even improve my appearance, as I may have fewer wrinkles around the eyes from less squinting. Bob Hagerty
Left to fend
Port Jefferson, L.I.: Mayor Mamdani promised the warm embrace of collectivism, but for New York’s most vulnerable, the consequences are clear: 16 people have died during this cold snap, 13 of them from hypothermia, with three more appearing overdose-related. There is nothing compassionate about leaving someone suffering from psychosis or addiction to rot on a sidewalk. By ending encampment sweeps, Mamdani effectively surrendered public spaces to squalor and disorder. But he is also killing people with kindness by allowing the streets to serve as de facto asylums. It is time to stop prioritizing the rights of the addicted to live in filth over the right of every New Yorker to live in a safe, functional city — and the right of the most vulnerable among us, unable to make sound choices, to be given shelter. Todd L. Pittinsky
Street-level shelter
New Rochelle, N.Y.: Acknowledging the need for upgraded homeless services, installing care facilities inside of busy subway stations is not the way. Yes, elected officials dropped the ball and let all of us down by eliminating space in both homeless centers and mental institutions. However, the MTA should not be asked to come to the rescue by providing spaces that could very well attract even more homeless into an already unwelcoming environment. With an influx of people not using the system for its intended use, there would be a real need for a beefed up police presence. As daily commuters have already noticed, restroom facilities are in short supply. And do we really need to create conditions that could result in further service disruptions? The idea is humane, but it should be inside some of the hundreds of vacant storefronts throughout the five boroughs, where they would be easily accessible. Charles Seaton
Warming memories
Richmond Hill: As I was walking one block to the supermarket, I kept thinking of global warming. I got so worried and scared that I actually wet my pants. Then my crotch turned into solid ice and I needed some neighbors to carry me back to my house to thaw out! When the temperature rises to more than single digits, the Earth might burn up! Joseph Napoleone
Special coverage
Delray Beach, Fla.: It is all over the news no matter where you turn that Nancy Guthrie has been abducted. Yes, it is a shame that this has happened, but the abduction has taken over the news. Many children and adults get abducted in poor neighborhoods. Does it get this press coverage in the news outlets? I don’t think so. Put your effort into everybody who gets abducted and print the news fairly, not only for some rich TV correspondent’s mother. Manny Agostini
