Does President Donald Trump exaggerate the situation in Portland? Of course. He loves to exaggerate to make his point, (“Portland protests 2025 vs 2020: Trump conflates the 2, but facts show no comparison,” Oct.4), The idea of sending in the National Guard would have been overkill if our officials had been properly enforcing the law in the first place.

If protestors, without a permit, block traffic, obstruct a public right-of-way, light fires, commit vandalism, interfere with police officers or engage in any other public misconduct, they should not only be arrested but they should be prosecuted, convicted, sentenced and punished to the full extent of the law. Just treat them the same way as the Jan. 6 protesters were originally treated.

Two more points. First, if our government had properly enforced immigration law from the beginning – going back for decades – we would not have any of these problems now. Second, no one seems to pay attention to the fact that if you are in the country illegally, no matter how good a person you are, you are subject to deportation. Those who think this unfair should contact their representative and get the law changed.

Mike Brost, Portland

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