The following Letters to the Editor are from the August 2025 issue of The Lenawee Voice. Letters should be 300 words or fewer and may be emailed to letters@lenaweevoice.com. If space is limited, preference will be given to local authors and local topics. Please include your town of residence and a phone number for verification.
Due process rights should be inviolable
Due process is a fundamental right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It protects all people — citizens and non-citizens alike—against arbitrary government decisions and ensures fairness in legal matters. It’s a basic promise: before the government can take away someone’s life, freedom, or property, they must have a fair chance to defend themselves.
But today, that promise is under serious threat.
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court deliberated whether non-citizens have any right to a fair legal process before being removed from the country. Although the justices had different views on how much process is due, the court decided: due process protections apply to everyone in America, regardless of immigration status.
This reaffirmation comes at a time when immigration policies have made it easier to deport people without traditional legal hearings — raising urgent questions about the strength and future of constitutional protections for all of us.
In Lenawee County, many of our neighbors, co-workers, and friends are immigrants. Policies that deny fair hearings make it harder for them to explain their cases before a judge — and harder for judges to make fair decisions.
In Lenawee County, we have many families with mixed immigration status. These rapid deportation policies can break up families, leaving U.S. citizen children without parents.
In Lenawee County, we have young people who came to the U.S. as children. Without guaranteed legal representation, even toddlers must navigate complex court proceedings alone, often without understanding their rights.
In Lenawee County, we value fairness and justice. Weakening due process protections for some puts all of our rights at risk. If the government can take away someone else’s rights without a hearing, what prevents them from doing the same to you?
When due process is denied to any group, it weakens the rule of law for all Americans.
— Mindy Dunn & Diana Fallot, co-presidents, League of Women Voters of Lenawee County
If I were the developer (or the devil)
If I were the developer, I wouldn’t come in loud. No, I’d come in soft with promises and handshakes and glossy brochures. I’d call it “clean,” “green,” and “the future.” I’d hide behind a wall of corporate logos, lobbyists, and Lansing lawyers. I’d speak in acres and megawatts, never in families, farms, or futures.
If I were the devil, I’d whisper into the ear of a cash-strapped farmer: “Lease your land, it’s just sitting there. Think of the payout. Think of the relief.” And while he sat alone at the kitchen table, balancing the books on a legacy he’s barely holding onto, I’d slide across a solar contract long enough to outlive his grandkids.
If I were the developer, I’d wait for a drought year or maybe just a bad harvest. Then I’d whisper to the man who’s worked the same ground for 40 years: “Here’s a way out. Lease it. You’ve earned a break.” I’d make sure the lease was ironclad, impossible to break. I’d offer just enough to divide neighbors, never enough to build community.
If I were both devil and developer, I’d divide communities like Blissfield and Riga. I’d make good neighbors eye each other sideways.
But I’m not the developer. I’m your neighbor.
I’m someone who believes this land is worth more than a subsidy. That our township isn’t for sale. That stewardship means something. That if we don’t protect this ground, no one else will.
So to the men in suits who’ve never fixed a fence post, who’ve never buried a calf, who’ve never watched their kid walk beans on a July morning, I say this: You can buy the lease. You can buy the silence. You can buy the local officials.
But you’ll never buy the soul of this land.
Not now. Not ever.
If I were the developer, I’d bet everything that small towns wouldn’t fight back.
But I’d lose.
— Ryan Powell, Palmyra Twp.
Saddened by news of Siena Heights’ closure
I am saddened to hear about the news of SHU closing next May 2026. To all my friends and family that will be affected directly, I am so sorry. This is also going to affect our community.
Siena Heights University has been part of my life and so many others. I didn’t go to school there.
Siena Heights University hosted many events that I was involved in … PFLAG meetings, organizing and helping with paperwork for HIV testing with UNIFIED for Lenawee residents for four years, Special Olympics, the Black Live Matters march to Siena Heights, Associated Charities walk/run fundraiser, CMH/Community Outreach meeting for combating drug addiction in our community. I had a nice dinner outside with Stacy (my sister) to meet her co-workers and the SHU employees one year at Siena Heights! I met some wonderful SHU staff.
Siena Heights University never charged a fee to me or the organizations that I was part of to use their facilities.
I have so many good memories, and I am happy that Siena Heights has been part of my life. Thanks so much Siena Heights University! I hope there will be a smooth transition. Maybe another college faculty will come there.
— Scott Marvin, Adrian
