Letters to the Editor | March 25, 2026

The late Robert Mueller was a Vietnam veteran and a true believer in the rule of law. Donald Trump is neither.

Jerry Wildeboer, Berwyn

The president, who is supposed to be a moral leader, responded to the death of former FBI Director Robert Mueller with, “Good, I’m glad.” When Donald Trump denigrates someone after their death, spitting on their graves, you can bet they were decent, honorable people. Mueller now joins the ranks of the late John McCain, John Dingell, and Rob Reiner. Mueller enlisted to go into battle in Vietnam after the death of a friend in that war — the same war the president evaded. Mueller dedicated his life to law enforcement, serving his country with distinction and the utmost integrity, including as the respected leader of the FBI. Trump is not a small fraction of the man Mueller was. What does a responsible parent say to an impressionable child when the leader of the free world demonstrates that he stands for division and hate?

Oren Spiegler, Peters Township

If you were outraged by what happened in Minneapolis, you should be just as incensed by what happened in Quakertown. Videos show students peacefully protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a sidewalk. The narrative that these kids were unruly or dangerous simply does not match what many of us have seen. What is deeply troubling is that the Quakertown police chief, out of uniform and not identifying himself, used force against teenagers exercising their First Amendment rights. Five students were detained and finally removed from house arrest after many weeks.

We should be proud of these courageous kids. Just as protesters in Minnesota created enough public pressure to force changes and limits on how ICE agents and Homeland Security operate, people of all ages speaking up can make a difference. The charges against these students should be dropped, and the police chief’s actions should be fully investigated. Justice cannot come soon enough. Our community is watching.

Bonnie Chang, Doylestown

Instead of sending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports, President Donald Trump should instead take money from ICE’s budget and transfer it to the Transportation Security Administration. The workers don’t need help; they need money. They need to get paid! I’m a former TSA employee, and sending ICE is not going to free up enough workers or time to make any significant difference. It’ll probably just cause chaos as usual.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave ICE $75 billion, so it has plenty of extra cash, and the TSA can use some of that. If you remember, Trump did something similar during his last shutdown. In October, Trump ordered a shift of funds, including redirecting U.S. Department of Defense research and development funding for military payroll, and using tariff money to fund specific food aid programs, bypassing the congressional impasse.

So you see, Trump can easily pay TSA agents. And now he can even take up Elon Musk’s offer to pay TSA employees out of the tech billionaire’s own pocket. You know he can afford it. But Trump wants to show his power, brilliance, and toughness by making the American people sacrifice. It’s not America first, it’s Trump first. And American citizens will just have to put up with it and suffer for the good of President Trump.

Michael Miller Jr., Philadelphia

My parents believed in the power of quality education. When I was a child, they explored public, private, and charter schools to find the best fit for me. They utilized resources available to them, including scholarships, to ensure no barriers stood in the way of my future. When I became a parent, I researched both public and private options to find the best environment for my daughter. A scholarship helped make my choice a reality for her. She now thrives in an academically rich and loving environment made possible through the power of parental choice in education.

As a parent, Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP) board member, and education advocate, I believe every parent should be able to choose the school that is best for their children — regardless of their zip code or income. In 2027, Pennsylvania has the opportunity through the new federal tax credit to increase funding available to families who choose private education, and to those seeking supplemental support such as academic supplies, extended day programs, and technology. This program could provide millions for CSFP and other scholarship organizations to distribute to families looking for options and access. Pennsylvania will benefit greatly from greater access to quality education. Let’s help more families by adding the federal tax credit.

Kamesha Callands, Philadelphia

We read in the paper about plans to buy warehouses in rural counties and turn them into immigration detention centers, but there don’t seem to be any questions or answers about what this means for the future of our country. These huge, unsanitary, unsafe, opaque places are warehousing people for months. Who do we think they will warehouse next? Do you think the corporations building, managing, and hugely profiting from them will just close up shop once all the “deportable” people are gone? Will some of them be kept in miserable purgatory? And who else? Who will be the next target? Our country already has the largest prison population. Will these warehouses simply become part of that system? Will our taxes go to locking up more and more people who our current administration deems “enemies within”? Where is this all headed?

Liese Sadler, Philadelphia

As we honor and celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s time to educate ourselves on the reality of women’s fight for equality. I’ve noticed that very few students — and adults — seem to know what people like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Dorothy Day, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and many more suffered, physically and psychologically, to gain the right to vote.

The amount of misogyny our culture not only allows but also celebrates continues to cause the implicit and explicit discrimination of women and our physical and verbal abuse. What can you do today to change this? Start by watching the film Iron Jawed Angels about the women’s suffrage movement. Then look up the “Night of Terror,” when suffragists were imprisoned and tortured on Nov. 14, 1917. On that day, more than 2,000 women were peacefully protesting for the right to vote in front of the White House. Apparently, President Woodrow Wilson didn’t like how this looked, and 33 of the women were arrested and imprisoned, some for months. During their detention, the women were physically assaulted, beaten so badly that some lost consciousness and had bones broken, then force fed against their will. Some of the women were never able to fully recover from this tragedy.

We cannot go backward. Too many women have suffered and died fighting for our rights to vote, to get an education, to live independently, and to control our own bodies. We must move forward, and the only way to do that is through education and laws that protect our rights.

Francine Mulligan, Philadelphia

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