The recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been nothing short of inhumane, horrifying and disappointing. What was once a government agency that was created to enforce immigration laws has now turned into a modern-day Gestapo under the Donald Trump administration.
ICE was created in 2003 under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the 9/11 attacks. The agency assumed both civil and criminal duties, such as investigating transnational crime and apprehending and deporting undocumented immigrants.
Under the Barack Obama administration, over 3 million immigrants were deported. Obama focused primarily on deporting those who posed a threat to national security or public safety first, along with those who had unlawfully entered the United States.
However, when Trump took office, he instead prioritized deporting any undocumented immigrant, regardless of whether they posed a threat to national security or not. He is keeping the same strategy, if not a stronger one, in his second term.
This strategy has induced heavy fear in many people, primarily in Hispanic and Latino communities. Families are being torn apart, people are scared to show up for work and people are being killed in the streets — all without due process.
We believe ICE’s current mission does not align with true American democratic values. This country was built by immigrants for the chance of having the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, with equality and freedom for all.
America has come a long way in its nearly 250 years of existence. Abolishing slavery and segregation were tremendous stepping stones in America’s history as a nation that can hold itself accountable for practicing inhumane acts for decades.
Now, accountability has completely dissipated. Federal agents killed both Renee Good and Alex Pretti in plain sight, but DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blatantly lies to our faces and tells us that Pretti and Good were violent, though video evidence shows otherwise.
Additionally, ICE’s way of going about arrests involves masking their faces and driving in unmarked vehicles. While the government argues that this is for their safety to avoid doxxing, it leaves a bigger lack of trust and transparency, all while making communities feel unsafe.
Because of the way ICE operates, we believe that it is functioning less as a government agency and more as a secret police force for the Trump administration that is vehemently breaching our government’s separation of powers.
What we see today is reminiscent of the Gestapo in Hitler’s Germany: a secret law enforcement operating without judicial review. ICE had a secret policy that was made public in January that allowed them to enter homes without judicial warrants.
We also believe that ICE has targeted specific racial groups in a way that feels similar to ethnic cleansing. There have been countless occasions where ICE has tried to arrest people just because they look Latino, even though they are U.S. citizens.
In Fresno, we have seen a shift in our community. Fear of potential ICE presence has led to many people not showing up for work, and false reports of ICE raids have instilled panic.
We believe that ICE should be abolished. It is a flawed system that has only hurt our country, not helped it. There are other ways to carry out the processes of enforcing legal immigration, but the way ICE is operating is dangerous.
Violating immigration laws is a civil offense. However, ICE is treating undocumented immigrants like criminals. While some undocumented people have committed crimes, most people being deported under Trump are not criminals, according to the Cato Institute.
Dismantling ICE would lead to a safer environment for everyone. Communities would not feel constantly attacked, innocent people would not be gunned down on the streets and children would not be ripped apart from their families.
Instead, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and immigration judges can handle the enforcement of legal immigration. The immigration courts have been severely underutilized as a result of ICE’s authority, and bringing power back to the courts can restore due process.
ICE has no place in our community. Not in Fresno, not in California, not anywhere. We do not think that ICE is held accountable for its misconduct, aligns with democratic values or improves safety in immigrant communities.
Abolishing ICE is the only answer to ensuring that our country can become what it always stood for: a place where anyone, no matter where they come from, has the freedom and opportunity to make a better life for themselves and for others.