The fact that Randall Saito easily bypassed multiple security systems and physical barriers during his escape vividly illustrates the futility and potential ineffectiveness of President Donald Trump’s proposed wall to secure the U.S.-Mexican border.
If a known individual who is locked and actively monitored in a secure facility can simply walk out and effortlessly travel from state to state, there is little hope a multi-billion-dollar wall will prevent hundreds or thousands of motivated unknown and unmonitored individuals from entering the U.S.
Gary Lum
Mariners Ridge
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Don’t blame teens homeless in Waikiki
I am a Hawaii inmate incarcerated at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz. I am responding to the article, “Homeless teens raise concerns” (Star-Advertiser, Oct. 25).
It’s not their fault that teens are homeless and roaming the streets. They have every right to protect themselves and each other as a group from sexual predators, pimps and anyone who tries to take advantage of their youthfulness and hardship.
If government leaders could not solve the serious homeless problem, I don’t think they can solve this minor homeless teen problem.
Lael Samonte
Eloy, Ariz.
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Safe zones can work for Oahu homeless
Our mayor and city housing director are totally off-base when they say safe zones don’t work and compare us to cities like L.A. (“Isle homeless advocates cite gains in cutting numbers needing shelter,” Star-Advertiser, Nov. 13).
They simply do not want these safe zones. Instead they would rather spend millions on housing and buildings.
Honolulu is unlike any city on the mainland. This is Hawaii, with beautiful weather year-round and people who simply do not want to go into a house.
They want and are content to live in tents or makeshift shelters outdoors.
We mount efforts to move homeless from one area, and they simply move back after a couple days. Why, we ask — because they have nowhere else to go.
Get safe zones now. The alternative is to allow the homeless to pitch their tents around Honolulu Hale.
Clifton T. Johnson
Waikiki
