President Trump indicated during a joint address to Congress this past week his administration is dedicated to pursuing tough, thoughtless policies around immigration. The moves he's already made in the name of keeping America safe have had costly impact to immigrant families and human decency. Trump says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are arresting "bad dudes" engaged in violent criminal activities. However, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seem to be targeting exactly the opposite, preying on non-violent immigrants, properly documented travelers, and even some American citizens.
The catalog of recent ICE actions against immigrants includes these lowlights: pulling a young woman from her car after she spoke out on behalf of DREAMers, arresting a legal immigrant newlywed in front of his pregnant wife on the grounds of a misdemeanor marijuana possession, arresting an undocumented woman in a hospital during treatment for a brain tumor, arresting a restaurant manager called a "local pillar" by his community, and picking up an undocumented father dropping his daughter off at school. CBP has also bravely stepped up border enforcement with recent airport detentions of such threats as a 70-year old Australian children's author, a NASA scientist, a French holocaust historian, and Muhammad Ali's son.
None of these incidents involved individuals that posed a threat to safety. It's even unclear in some instances what provoked the detentions. Anyone that's crossed the border, even to Canada, understands customs agents are not known for their warm rapport but if these are the best results CBP and ICE can deliver from a crackdown on violent offenders, both now appear wildly incompetent in executing the stated mission.
President Trump called ICE activities against illegals a military operation during a recent press conference. No American should be complacent about that statement. Trump's police state vision of immigration reform is as reprehensible as the actions of the stumbling army he's empowered to carry it out.
The new American normal cannot include packs of unmarked cars rolling into communities to pull people off the streets. Airport detainment of citizens and documented visitors alike is not acceptable as routine. Effective law enforcement is based on respect not fear. Effective immigration policy and border security can also be accomplished without the fear tactics Trump's protection squadrons employ. Protection squadron is the literal translation of the name Schutzstaffel. The last group to use it relied on fear to become the foremost agency of security and surveillance in the world.
Trump also prefers to wage fear since respect is an accolade he rarely earns. That puts us all on thin ICE.
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