Raul Raymundo ’87 publishes letter to the editor in Chicago Tribune

Raul Raymundo ’87 published a letter to the editor in the January 12 edition of the Chicago Tribune titled, “We deserve answers.”

The killing of Renee Nicole Good, an unarmed 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis, is a clarion call for transparency and accountability. While local leaders, eyewitnesses and video evidence sharply contradict the Department of Homeland Security’s claim of self-defense, one sobering truth remains: An American is dead at the hands of her own government, and the public deserves answers.

This is not an isolated incident. In September, Silverio Villegas-González, a 38-year-old father, was killed by an ICE officer during a vehicle stop in the Chicago area. According to The Marshall Project, federal officers fired on at least nine people in their vehicles over a four-month period, evidence of a disturbing pattern.

Across the country, communities are experiencing an escalation of militarized immigration enforcement that spreads fear, separates families and violates basic constitutional norms. Armed, masked officials are making arrests without clear identification or due process, often near schools, churches and community spaces. The indiscriminate use of force, including tear gas, has become dangerously normalized by our government.

We are living through a profound rupture in the American experience — one in which democratic norms erode, accountability weakens and immigrants are subjected to unprecedented violence. This moment is no longer about debating border security or the lawful detention of individuals who pose genuine danger, regardless of immigration status. It is about the unnecessary deployment of federally militarized personnel into civilian neighborhoods.

The courts have warned against treating dissent as disloyalty. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put it plainly: “Political opposition is not rebellion.” Americans must remain free to show up for one another and protest peacefully without being branded “terrorists” for exercising First Amendment rights.

We, the people, know from direct experience that immigrants, documented and undocumented, strengthen our communities. They are caregivers, educators, entrepreneurs and essential workers who weave our social fabric and drive the economic vitality of our nation.

We call on this administration to immediately end overly aggressive deportation practices and restore constitutional guardrails in immigration enforcement, including clear identification and accountability for agents, strict limits on the use of force with independent review of all deaths and serious injuries, protection for sensitive community spaces and transparent public reporting with meaningful due process.

We are falling short of the promise of America: All people are created equal.

Enough is enough.

Read Raymundo’s piece, along with other letters to the editor.