Land of the free? (Letter to the Editor).

Erin Middlewood's article "Forced Departure: The INS Raids Airport Kitchens" (February issue) is a fine example of the government using the prison system to fight suspected yet unproven terrorism. Even if Nathan Marquez, the immigrant Middlewood profiled, were not a U.S. citizen, we feel that he should not have been treated so poorly.

His mistreatment is part of a larger picture. The U.S. government is detaining supposed terrorists without due process. It's arresting suspicious individuals, both inside and outside of the United States, and it is violating the rights of "detainees" in Guantanamo Bay.

Kristen Maier and Cesare Lasorella
Chicago, Illinois