To the editor:

In a recent letter to the editor, Zachary Cooper apparently thought he was being clever and funny when he made snarky remarks about elderly Rhode Islanders’ concerns for this country’s democracy. However, to me — one of those “whitecaps” Mr. Cooper derisively referred to — and to many other Rhode Islanders, the changes under the current administration are no laughing matter.

Everywhere I’ve gone since the January inauguration, I have heard stories of how people are being negatively impacted. The following are just a few stories:

A young friend is struggling financially because they lost their internship job due to funding cuts by the administration. A neighbor told me how stressed she is about her job with an American company that is about to fold because they are dependent on parts made in China impacted by the tariff war. Another friend is concerned about her adult son’s business, which relies on a product from Canada. A local store manager described the challenge of replenishing their Christmas stock when popular items made in China double in price.

When I was standing in line waiting to be served at a recent event, I overheard the woman in front of me say she is worried about how to meet the overwhelming need at St. Mary of the Bay’s food pantry in Warren. The Rhode Island Food Bank reports that 14 of the 30 truck-loads of food scheduled to be delivered to Rhode Island between now and September have been cancelled.

A lawyer friend is exhausted from trying to defend his immigrant clients who for no serious offense have been picked up by ICE and moved from one detention center to another across the country, thus making legal defense extremely challenging. In some cases, ICE detained parents who were taking their children to school and health center appointments, where the children were left to fend for themselves.

Last month, I attended an Immigrants’ Advocacy event at the State House where speakers with tears in their eyes recounted the atmosphere of terror in their community. The treatment of undocumented and documented immigrants (i.e., people in the U.S. legally) is unconscionable: Abducted without warrants, without due process, unable to contact a lawyer and family, whisked away out of state to private detention centers where conditions are deplorable (Note: One of these deplorable private, for-profit detention centers is the Wyatt Center in Central Falls.)

Not only is this inhumane, but these are gross violations of the rights of anyone living in the U.S. and should alarm all of us.

My own family is hurting, too. Sadly, because green card holders are no longer guaranteed re-entry into the U.S., we will not be traveling outside the U.S. to visit our family in Canada, and we live with anxiety about what will happen next. I am anxious that I could be arrested for the open protests for peace and justice that I have engaged in for the past 22 years.

There’s much that all of us, “whitecaps” and the young, should fear in these draconian dictates, but we must refuse to be cowed. We must stand up to the assault on our democracy. If you wait until you have your own story to tell, it may be too late.

Nancy Hood
Bristol