Reader says proposed Surprise ICE facility is hardly a ‘concentration camp’

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Readers are invited to write us at yourvalley.net/letters or AzOpinions@iniusa.org to share your thoughts on the proposed ICE detention center in Surprise being described as a “concentration camp.” Please limit your letter to 300 words or less, and include your name, city and contact number in your email.

We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, which can be found at yourvalley.net/civility-checklist.

OPINION — In response to Skip Porter’s letter, Why I’m no longer spending money in nearby Surprise: the letter contains this sentence: “I am disappointed that Surprise would host a concentration camp  (the proposed regional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement intake and processing facility that is coming to Surprise).”

Concentration camp? Really?

The Nazis of Germany were trying to kill all Jews, who were living in Europe. When the Allies liberated these camps, those who had not yet died or been killed were emaciated from starvation and disease.

How can you compare an intake and processing facility to that? Is the government planning mass executions and starvation of those they're holding for deportation? I think not. 

Incidentally, how could the leadership of Surprise stop the federal government? 

Secondly, Turning Point USA, founded by the late Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated for his beliefs, has no more influence than any of several leftist organizations, which also attempt to influence governmental agencies. 

Lastly, I am glad that we are still able to express ourselves openly. Taking your money elsewhere is a time-honored form of expression going all the way back to the late 1700s in Colonial America. Good job for that, at least!

Editor’s note: The term “concentration camp” is defined by dictionaries as a place where a large number of people are confined or detained without trial. According to Yad Yashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the Nazi regime operated several types of camps, including concentration, labor and hard labor camps, extermination camps, transit camps and prisoner of war camps. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.