ICE Isn’t Keeping You Safe. It’s Dividing Us All.
Here we go again. The same tired debate playing out every single day. “Just let ICE do their job!” Oh, you mean terrorize entire communities, drag people out of their homes in the middle of the night and violate every basic right of human dignity in the name of “safety”? Yeah, that’s the job, right?
Let’s be clear about one thing. Facts matter. But it’s clear that facts are in short supply for some people, who’d rather parrot talking points and spew misinformation than face the reality of what’s going on.
Let’s drop the partisan bullshit and talk about the actual job ICE is doing, because SPOILER ALERT, ICE is NOT making America safer. It’s making America divided, terrified, and more fractured than ever. This is not about Left vs. Right, Republicans vs. Democrats, MAGA vs. Progressives. THIS is about America, not politics.
Americans under attack from our own government.
ICE Isn’t Protecting You. It’s Harming Our Country.
Some folks seem to think ICE’s “job” is to be some heroic force of law and order protecting us from the “worst of the worst”, except, ICE isn’t going after criminals. They’re going after people without criminal convictions. They’re chasing quotas for bonuses. Here’s a little statistic for you. More than 70% of ICE detainees have no criminal record. Yeah, that’s right. Most of the people ICE is locking up aren’t criminals at all, just regular people trying to live their lives. Some were out running errands for their families and never made it back home. But don’t worry, we’re totally safer now, right? (Let’s be real… we’re not.) Don’t think for a second that ICE is out there taking down dangerous, violent offenders. Less than 5% of ICE detainees are actually violent criminals. Not to mention, many of the people who are being rounded up by ICE have been in the process of becoming American citizens, but have been snatched up, regardless. But please, let’s keep pretending they’re keeping us safe by detaining people who pose no threat. Give me a break.
ICE isn’t about immigration, it’s about control and getting us all “used to” having militia roaming through our streets. Think about immigration in the past, with other Presidents and administrations. Did those immigration programs included masked, massively armed militia members chasing people through the streets and ripping people from their cars and homes? The answer is simple… no, they did not.
“Just Let ICE Do Their Job”? Let’s Talk About What That Really Means
People love to shout, “just let ICE do their job!” But here’s the problem. ICE doesn’t seem to know what their job is anymore. They sure as hell aren’t following the Constitution, or any sense of law and order. Instead, they’re acting like they’ve got a free pass to do whatever they want… because they’re TOLD that they’ve got “absolute immunity”. Let’s make one thing clear. They DO NOT. Their “job” is not to terrorize civilians who are peacefully exercising their Constitutional rights. It’s not to barge into homes, break up families, and ruin lives. Their job is not to be the secret police with absolute immunity, ignoring laws and the very rights they’re supposed to protect.
Here’s a FUN FACT: ICE agents can and will be held accountable when all is said and done. They do not have absolute immunity. Real Laws will catch up to them and there’s nothing the federal government can do to “protect” them from prosecution.
When people say, “Just let them do their job,” they should stop for a second and think, “what job are we talking about here?” Are we talking about the job where ICE agents shoot U.S. citizens for being legal observers? That happened. We’ve all watched the videos over and over. The people who were killed were not “paid agitators”. They were American citizens, taking a stand, supporting the Constitutional Rights of themselves and others. They were fighting oppression. Fighting against a government and an administration that has turned its back on the oaths that lawmakers took to protect and defend that very Constitution.
Or how about when ICE agents shot and wounded a Venezuelan man, and then lied about the circumstances to cover it up? How’s that for “doing their job”?
If this is what you’re calling “doing their job,” then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
Let’s Call It What It Is… A Power Trip
ICE is operating like a secret police force that’s been given a free pass to break every rule in the book. Letting ICE “do their job” is just code for giving them a blank check to act outside the law and destroy lives without consequences. They’re behaving this way because they are TOLD to behave this way. By an administration without regard for rules, laws or faithfulness to the Constitution. If you really think this is what “doing their job” looks like, then you’re either not paying attention or you’re willfully ignoring the damage being done. We’ve already seen how unregulated power can tear a country apart. Do we really need to keep doubling down on the same system that’s proven to fail? If you’re tired of what’s happening being compared to Nazi Germany, then take a stand against what’s going on because we are not headed there, we ARE there. If this isn’t a Constitutional Crisis, then I don’t know what else is.
The job of ICE is not to operate outside the Constitution. It’s to uphold immigration laws, not make them up as they go along. We have the right to live free from fear of government overreach, immigrants included. When ICE is unchecked, we aren’t any safer. We’re just more divided and afraid. What we have been witnessing in chaos without regard for humanity.
It’s past time to wake up and demand better. It’s time to stop pretending that more raids, more fear, and more detentions are somehow making us safer. They’re not. How do we fix this? We stop wasting resources on people who aren’t a threat. Go after actual criminals, not people just trying to survive. We show respect for due process. People deserve their rights, whether you like them or not. We end the free pass for agencies like ICE. They don’t get to operate like this is the Wild, Wild West. Let’s focus on smart solutions like immigration reform that works for everyone, not just for the politically convenient.
Do I need to take you back to high school? Or how about junior high or middle school or elementary school? Do some of you need to be re-educated on why our country is called the “Land Of The Free and the Home Of The Brave”? Remember the bronze plaque at the Statue of Liberty? It welcomes immigrants with the lines, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Remember that? We are all immigrants in one way or another. My family came here in the early 1900s from Norway and Germany, like countless others. We are all part of the same story. The real question is, do we want to continue allowing ICE to tear us apart, or do we want to create a better, safer system for all?
America, It’s Time to Wake Up
We can’t keep letting our country be driven apart by small-mindedness and partisan nonsense. The stakes are too high. The facts are right in front of us. It’s time to call out the lies and demand a system that actually serves us. ALL of us.
The next time someone says, “Just let ICE do their job,” ask them, “What job?” Because from where I’m standing, it looks like their job is just making everything worse.
Time for Change
We need smarter, better immigration policies. Period. It’s time to leave the outdated rhetoric behind and make sure our policies reflect human dignity, respect for the Constitution, and actual public safety. Not fear, division, and hate.
Let’s make some noise, people. This is the fight for the future of America and adherence to the Constitution that is supposed to guide our light, not snuff it out.
For those who think I’m pulling statistics out of thin air, here are some SOURCES: stateline.orgcbsnews.comreuters.com