This week, a 16-page insert from Stars and Stripes — the official newspaper of the U.S. military — was folded into copies of The Beachcomber, along with other advertising inserts for Safeway and Big 5 Sports.

It is important for our readers to understand the facts of what this publication was and how it came to be inserted into our paper.

The Stars & Stripes advertising supplement — like the Big 5 Sports and Safeway circulars — was a regional advertising insert in many Sound Publishing papers, and was inserted into The Beachcomber at the press.

We opened this week’s paper, just like our readers, to see it for the first time. The Stars & Stripes insert appeared as a paid, pre-printed advertising insert and was not written, selected, or endorsed by The Beachcomber’s staff.

The special section contained articles and information for those transitioning from military service to civilian life. And while the publication’s editorial content was unrelated to ICE, it contained a full-page recruitment ad for ICE as well as other advertising.

Advertising, like letters to the editor and guest opinion pieces, does not reflect the views, editorial vision or opinion of The Beachcomber. There are always walls separating these functions of a newspaper.

That said, we understand why the ICE ad upset, angered and confused many readers.

Vashon and Maury Island are home to people with many backgrounds, experiences and stories, and for some readers the imagery and message in this advertisement touched on deeply personal and political issues involving family, safety and belonging. We want our readers to know their feelings are being heard and taken seriously.

Our local ads reflect our community and its support and readership of our newspaper, and we are grateful to the local businesses, nonprofits and individuals who advertise on our pages.

In terms of The Beachcomber’s editorial coverage of immigration enforcement, we have been guided by two principles: that islanders should know how our public institutions and local groups are confronting this issue and at the same time, that our coverage should not result in any unintended harm to vulnerable members of our community. These principles will continue to be our north star in covering the impact of national policy on our local community.

We recognize that this insert caused distress for some readers and the impact it had. We do not know if additional pre-printed inserts from Stars & Stripes will publish in future issues.

We know this may raise further concern and we are open to continued conversation with our community.

Thank you for your readership and your insistence on the highest quality of local journalism. Our small staff strives every day to provide that and to be a force for good in our community. We encourage letters to the editor and continued dialogue with our readers.

— Aspen Anderson, Editor and Elizabeth Shepherd, Reporter