I’m the daughter of a retired Miami cop. ICE embarrasses law enforcement | Opinion
ICE terrorism
I do respect police officers. My father was a police officer, then a homicide detective, for the City of Miami Police Department. From 1950 until his retirement decades later, he managed to avoid shooting anyone.
He talked a jumper off the seventh floor of Jackson Memorial Hospital. He rescued a man who had stabbed himself and jumped into Biscayne Bay. He saved lives and received commendations. He used his words, wit, humor and police academy training to diffuse conflicts and disarm suspects. He never wore a mask. He never targeted ethnic groups, only criminals — some violent, some not.
We live in a different world now. Reportedly, ICE officers have little or no training, are unaware of citizens’ Constitutional rights and many are verbally and physically abusive when confronting people. They mask their faces and refuse to show ID or a signed judicial warrant when asked. The administration appears to have given them a license to kill.
Rather than seek out the most challenging, possibly dangerous, “worst of the worst” as they claim, ICE seeks soft targets — hard-working immigrants at their jobs, schools, or immigration courts. They even target U.S. citizens.
They harass, abduct and whisk these people away to destinations unknown, like in other dictatorships or gang-controlled countries.
America has lost its soul under this administration.
Pat Bonner Milone,
Redland
An aha moment?
I really hope Maria Corina Machado finally saw the light after her meeting last Thursday with Donald Trump. It was sad to see her offer and then “present” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to “Dear Leader.”
Even after she laid this tribute at his feet, Trump said she has no support or respect. If she did this in hopes of getting a leadership role in Venezuela, then maybe it was a worthy gamble.
However, as we know, Trump only looks out for himself. Machado has made an embarrassing, pointless gesture while Trump adds another piece of gold to his hideous Oval Office.
John Jarnagin,
Key Largo
Cuba’s hope
The Herald’s Jan. 11 online article, “Trump: Cuba to get no more oil from Venezuela, should make a deal ‘before it is too late,’” captures the depth of the suffering. Millions of Cubans cannot meet basic needs and the island’s dependence on outside fuel only exposes how fragile daily life has become. What is missing from this picture cannot be measured in statistics: it is the hope for a free Cuba in the hearts of those on the island and in exile. A hope born from struggle, not printed on propaganda posters.
Young Cubans found their voices during and after the July 11, 2021 anti-government protests. They surprised themselves with their courage and showed what’s possible when fear starts to loosen its grip.
That spirit has not died. My generation sees the crisis clearly; we also see who built the cage. For decades, the Castro regime punished initiative, controlled speech and treated citizens as subjects. In asking for endurance, it offered excuses and repression.
Things are falling apart, but we also see an opening, a chance for something new. Many of us in exile think about going back, not just to visit, but to rebuild.
When Cuba is free, there will be a reunion. Those who stayed and those who left will work side by side to build a country where every Cuban can live, speak and earn with dignity and truth is safe.
Carlos Martinez,
Silver Spring, MD
Judge challenged
As noted in the Herald’s Jan. 14 story, “After legal win, Miami Dade College goes after judge in Trump library case,” MDC now accuses Judge Mavel Ruiz of personal bias for apparently, holding historian Marvin Dunn in “high esteem.”
Well before the College Board of Trustees gave away real estate worth more than $20 million for no guaranteed benefit to students and taxpayers, many in our community held Dunn in high esteem. More so now, after his brave and financially risky lawsuit to force the Board to have an advertised, open meeting.
No wonder the Board seeks to remove the judge. It’s to keep the public from knowing what motivated the unanimous vote that, at the least, is controversial, though by all appearances profligate of our public resources.
Ralph Remis,
Miami
Downtown shuttles
I firmly support using public transportation to travel from Kendall to downtown Miami for events and cultural activities. I understand that maintenance and upgrades for transit equipment and service are always needed. Generally, when breakdowns cause stoppages on the People Mover, a shuttle bus is provided.
Attending the Arsht Center by Metrorail and Mover was an easy and efficient way to enjoy the cultural center. Now, however, with the Mover shut down for nightly overhauls at 10 p.m. and no bus running the Mover’s route, it has become a challenge. Many shows and events at the Kaseya Center end after 10 p.m.
What do we do? Walk to Government Center at that late hour?
Buses and the trolley are less reliable. Calling an Uber or cab is an option, but we are forced to pay for a free county service. The county should consider running a shuttle along the Mover’s route at least until 11 or 11:30 p.m., so transit users can make it to the train before midnight. Our taxes have paid for this service. We should get it.
Marsha Broad,
Miami
Stop 7-OH ban
Florida’s emergency ban on 7-OH has never made any sense. People use this plant extract for pain and anxiety. It’s not some dangerous street drug. The FDA has documented only 53 adverse reports nationwide and no deaths caused solely by 7-OH. Florida claimed it was an imminent threat.
The only imminent threat I see is the government interfering in my life. I am a 37-year-old mom of five. 7-OH was the only thing that kept my anxiety manageable. My mother, who has had five back surgeries, says it is the only thing that eases her pain. Our options now do not work and cause brutal side effects.
The ban removes a tool that helps people function, while doing nothing to improve safety. With the state legislature now back in session, we finally have a chance to get rid of it. Time to end it.
Sarah Henson,
Crestview
Enforce parking
Before Miami-Dade County starts exploring specialized enforcement units to combat illegal use of handicapped placards, it might want to try some good, old-fashioned enforcement.
As a recent holder of a legitimate placard, I am shocked by how many flagrant scofflaws there are in parking for handicapped spaces without a placard, fake or legitimate.
In my experience, at least half of the time people park in handicapped spaces without a placard and I have never seen an officer issue a ticket.
Randall Hilliard,
Biscayne Park
Best interest?
For many of our neighbors, voting for U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart is automatic. No politician, however, deserves a lifetime contract when our lives are getting harder.
Ask any older Cuban American in Northwest Miami-Dade what keeps them up at night: higher grocery prices, the fear of losing a doctor, the cost of medicine, whether Social Security and Medicare will be there.
These are not left vs right questions; they are basic dignity questions.
Yet, Díaz-Balart voted for the 2017 tax law that gave billions to the wealthiest Americans while our costs kept rising. He has aligned himself with the Republican Study Committee (RSC) — representing most House Republicans — which repeatedly proposes raising the Social Security retirement age and converting Medicare into a voucher system.
These aren’t scare tactics. The RSC released these proposals in 2023 and 2024. While Díaz-Balart talks about protecting our community, he and his party leadership keep pushing ideas that weaken the programs we paid into our entire lives.
Being a Republican doesn’t mean giving one man a blank check. The exile generation knows what it means to hold leaders accountable.
Look at your own pocketbook and health, then compare it to Díaz-Balart’s record and decide: is he still fighting for you — or just for his party?
Paul Howard,
Naples
Bus disservice
The South Dade Express Busway service from Dadeland South Metrorail to Florida City is terrible and worse than it was before the express service-like Metrorail buses were added. I have taken those express buses from the Falls area after leaving my car at my mechanic’s shop. You have to wait at least 30 minutes to an hour for a northbound bus.
Had the county left it as before, then all the buses would stop at all the stops, we would have better and faster service. Also, public restrooms are needed at all Metrorail and Metrobus stations.
Jack J. Russell,
Kendall
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM.