Under Trump's distrust of foreigners, we're forgetting immigrants' contributions

Miami Herald

20-05-2025

Who's an immigrant?
A headline in the Miami Herald's May 18 front page states, 'Florida's mass deportation and immigration-enforcement blueprint explained.' The article details that Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is aligned with President Trump's administration in cracking down on immigrants.
On the same front page was a story celebrating the achievements of the 2025 Silver Knight Awards recipients. Most of the recipients are children or grandchildren of immigrants.
The dichotomy makes one's head spin. One has to be ignorant — and racist — not to see the obvious contribution immigrants bring to our country.
Unless one belongs to a Native American tribe, we are all immigrants, including the governor and the president.
Monica Harvey,
Miami Shores
What's the benefit?
If President Trump and his inner cadre of xenophobes want to score political points, deporting Venezuelans who fled political and economic turmoil is unnecessary, as Trump won the election more than six months ago.
If he is trying to produce more goods and services domestically and maintain the economic boom South Florida has enjoyed over the last decade, how does removing thousands of potential and current workers, almost all who work for low wages, help the cause?
This pathological dislike and distrust of foreigners championed by the MAGA movement contradicts everything patriotism and American values stand for. If you love your country, why turn away the many masses who risked life and limb to get here?
Many Venezuelan conservative converts paraded around Doral with pro-Trump banners. Why turn on those who helped vote you in to office?
Suspending Temporary Protective Status obstructs fairness and growth. This can't be good policy nor even good politics.
Mark Elman,
Miami
Bus audit
Re: the May 18 Miami Herald story, 'Miami-Dade schools to audit bus camera program after investigation reveals issues.' I was happy to read that the school board voted in favor of a comprehensive audit and I look forward to the results.
I wonder, however, if it will raise the ethical question of whether the political influence of State Rep. Vicky Lopez benefited her son and the company he works for, BusPatrol. In Oct. 2024, after Lopez supported school bus camera laws, BusPatrol, the leading vendor, hired her son.
Barbara Sangetti,
Miami
Downtown living
I've long supported the Downtown Neighbors Alliance (DNA) and was proud to serve as its Development and Flagler Business Improvement District (BID) Liaison. However, DNA's campaign to dismantle the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) relies on misleading 'facts' and risks harming the residents it claims to defend.
The DDA's $12.97 million annual assessment is reinvested into our community — clean streets, safety ambassadors, cultural events and public-realm projects like Flagler Street and the Baywalk. Fully 53% of the budget funds quality-of-life, arts, culture and urbanism initiatives; another 17% supports small-business grants and retail activities that keep our sidewalks vibrant and local economy healthy. Even the $750,000 sports sponsorship yields measurable boosts in visitor spending and property values — hardly 'taking money from residents' pockets.'
If one believes the DDA needs more resident voices, then join public meetings, attend town halls and demand clearer performance metrics. However, dissolving the DDA won't improve Downtown — it will abandon vital services and force the City of Miami to fill the gap, inevitably raising taxes. Miami deserves constructive debate, not reductive social-media slogans.
I urge my fellow residents to engage in the upcoming budget discussions, present our challenges fairly and work together for a stronger Downtown Miami.
Terrell N. Fritz,
director,
Flagler BID,
Miami
School e-buses
Miami-Dade County Public Schools have made groundbreaking progress by securing hundreds of electric school buses through the EPA's Clean School Bus Program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. These buses are already improving lives — reducing harmful air pollution, creating quieter and safer rides and cutting maintenance costs so more resources go back into classrooms. This success story, however, is now under threat.
The Trump administration has already terminated hundreds of grants and contracts supporting teacher preparation and education research. It has frozen funding awarded under the Clean School Bus Program and other clean-energy improvements and canceled approvals for states and school districts to spend millions in already-promised funds.
This funding isn't just about climate — it's a triple win for 'pupils, planet and prosperity.' Electric buses reduce asthma-triggering emissions, boost student learning by improving air quality and save school districts money in the long run. Our drivers love them. Our kids breathe easier because of them.
We cannot let shortsighted politics undo this progress. Miami-Dade families, educators and taxpayers all benefit from these clean-energy investments. We must fight to protect this program and ensure our children ride into a healthier, safer and more prosperous future.
Michele Drucker,
Miami
Medical advice
If Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., feels that people shouldn't take medical advice from him, then he should step aside in favor of someone who is qualified to give medical advice and head the national health agency.
Ted Burg,
Pembroke Pines
No property tax
The history of property taxation in the United States is long and complex, particularly in Florida, where politicians have consistently lacked the will to eliminate it. This ongoing inaction has created a catastrophic crisis for homeowners, especially retirees and senior citizens, many of whom are close to losing their primary residences.
Respected Wall Street Journal columnist John Steele Gordon, through a well-researched historical analysis of property taxes, argued that the current model should be suspended. He maintains that property taxes, which remain the primary source of revenue for local governments in the U.S., are a harmful relic of the 18th century. He advocates for their abolition, noting that such a tax no longer exists in any developed industrialized nation, but only in a few developing countries.
Notable voices have echoed this call. América TV host Juan Manuel Cao and Florida State Sen. Ileana García have both courageously spoken out in favor of abolishing property taxes. Their advocacy underscores the urgency of enacting a constitutional amendment to at least relieve retirees and elderly citizens of this onerous burden.
Fortunately, Gov. Ron DeSantis has the will to act. In March, he held a conference in Orlando with the Florida Association of Realtors, in which he reiterated his commitment to eliminating property taxes and expressed his intent to include a constitutional amendment on the 2026 Florida ballot.
A difficult path still lies ahead, with many local leaders opposing such change. It can be done. Germany, Japan and other nations have achieved this level of social well-being. We can too, by restructuring revenue sources, such as taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, gasoline, sales, tourism, home repair permits and other indirect taxes. Bureaucratic excess must be reduced, exorbitant public salaries re-evaluated and a portion of revenue from tariffs could be allocated toward replacing property tax income.
With strong leadership finally emerging, let us unite in support of a constitutional amendment on the 2026 Florida ballot to eliminate property taxes once and for all.
Domingo J. Delgado,
Sunny Isles Beach
Changing landscape
Seems like Sears in Coral Gables will be joining those magnificent places of my childhood, like Richard's Department Store, Jefferson's, Famous Restaurant in Miami Beach and Pirate's World in Dania Beach.
Today's youngsters won't have the joys of eyeing the candy displays nor waiting in line to talk to Santa. Instead, the Amazon truck pulls up, drops off your order without any conversation nor caring if the product satisfied your needs.
Oh, if only we could return to those simpler times.
Sol Yanowitz,
Miami