To the editor:

On Good Friday, I wrote First District Congressman Tracey Mann to the effect that I was deeply disappointed in his support for an administration whose many actions seem very un-Christian to this Christian. As I wrote, the Jesus I know tells me to love God with all my heart, soul and mind and to love my neighbor as myself. These are the “greatest” commandments, explained Jesus in Matthew 22. Making a big show of “Christianity” in the White House on Easter weekend, while canceling student visas and deporting American residents to notorious El Salvadoran prisons with no consideration for due process and shutting down faith-based humanitarian relief efforts (USAID, etc.) around the world is a far cry from true Christian conduct.

In his (i.e., staff’s) inane reply, the congressman promised to “continue to monitor any actions taken by the executive branch” and assured me that he “remain[ed] committed to protecting our Constitutional rights.” Really? “Honestly, Congressman,” I wrote back, “how can you in good conscience say that you ‘remain committed to protecting our Constitutional rights’ and continue to support an administration that tramples on those rights at nearly every turn?” The Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment apply to the “people” of the United States, not just citizens. No PERSON shall be “deprived … of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.” The question of “good” or “bad,” citizen or noncitizen, is irrelevant.

Virgil W. Dean,

Lawrence