As I type this I am listening to Illinois Gov. Pritzker’s press conference condemning the ICE raids being conducted in Chicago and the suburbs. I’ll post a transcript of the remarks as soon as one become available.
I agree with some of what he says; disagree with some. I agree that it should not be necessary for armed ICE agents to march the streets of Chicago or, what would be worse, with the U. S. military be used to protect ICE agents.
I agree that people demonstrating peacefully should not be accosted or assaulted by ICE agents. I agree that it should not be necessary to use tear gas to disperse crowds.
I disagree that puncturing tires, assaulting ICE agents, or throwing onesself on or in front of an official vehicle is “demonstrating peacefully”.
Update
Rob Hughes reports on the press conference at ABC 7 Chicago:
CHICAGO (WLS) — The Department of Homeland Security is requesting that 100 military personnel be sent to Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker said during a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Pritzker called that press conference to bring more attention to recent action by federal agents in Illinois and highlight incidents that happened in Broadview and downtown Chicago over the weekend.
“This is not about fighting crime or about public safety. This is about sowing fear and intimidation and division among Americans. It was about creating a pretext to send armed military troops into our communities. This is about consolidating power in Donald Trump’s hands,” Pritzker said.
I agree with Gov. Pritzker that the deployment is unnecessary and I agree that the reason is political. Immigration policy and its enforcement are the responsibility of the federal government. The federal government cannot dragoon state and local law enforcement into enforcing federal immigration law but there is no barrier to state and local governments cooperating with the federal government in enforcing the law.
When state and local governments decide not to cooperate with the federal government I’m not sure what the federal government’s recourse is. I think they need to send agents into the uncooperative states and localities.
And I suspect that Gov. Pritzker’s outspoken opposition to the Trump administration, part of his nascent presidential campaign, as well as Illinois’s “sanctuary state” and Chicago’s “sanctuary city” policies make us a prime target for enforcement.
