Highlighting a set of tragic cases, the article “Released to reoffend’’ (Page A1, June 5) only adds to the current rhetoric urging Americans to fear immigrants.

The Globe reviewed 323 cases where noncitizens were released from immigration detention because the United States was unable to deport them, finding that 30 percent “committed new offenses.’’ The article suggests a trend in which immigrants are committing “thousands of preventable crimes,’’ but it fails to account for the fact that the 30 percent recidivism rate is lower than the estimated rate of repeat offenses for the general population.

While the highlighted cases are horrific, the implied solution — incarcerating indefinitely all noncitizens who can’t be deported — is unacceptable and unconstitutional. No law-enforcement agency can preventively incarcerate people who have done their time, whether citizen or noncitizen, on the premise that they might commit a crime in the future. That is the stuff of dystopian novels.

Sadly, this article highlights the nation’s overreliance on incarceration and scapegoating of immigrants. Instead, we should focus on solutions that address the root causes of crime.

Laura Rótolo

Staff counsel and community advocate

American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Boston