Many U. S. cities are on tenterhooks today in anticipation of the ICE raids to enforce the deportation of people already on deportation orders. Chicago is one of those cities and the Chicago Tribune reports:
For the second time in less than a month, immigrants and their advocates in Chicago and other major cities are girding for the prospect of a large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation campaign reportedly set to begin this weekend.
With President Donald Trump hinting that sweeps targeting undocumented families and those with final deportation orders would begin soon — after announcing and then postponing the planned raids last month — activists in Chicago are again mobilizing resistance and advising immigrants of their rights.
On Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot reiterated that Chicago police won’t cooperate with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campaign and blasted the president for “fear-mongering†and “making immigrants scapegoats … who are just here to live their life. That’s not who we are or should be as Americans.”
I hope the mayor and officials across the country continue to tread lightly. There can be a very fine line between non-cooperation and obstruction, between protest and lawlessness. The president’s authority to send troops into American cities to quell disturbances was greatly broadened by the Congress in 2006, something that I opposed. The old wording of the Insurrection Act of 1802 was “insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy”. The new wording is “natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition” in addition which could mean just about anything the president decides it means.
Tread lightly.
I thought that we had a crisis at the border. Where are all of the ICE agents coming from? I predict that if Trump sends in troops because the police in some city fail to cooperate we will see Trump’s approval rating among Republicans hit almost 100%.
Steve
My understanding is that the people being sought by ICE are ones who have gone through the legal system and were already under orders of deportation. Out of this list of a million or so people (again, my understanding) the emphasis is to be placed on criminal felons etc.
If people like Steve find this reprehensible then he should encourage his congress person to change our existing immigration laws. As it stands now, however, why even bother vetting anyone crossing the border seeking asylum if there is no legal arm to enforce the removal of those whose asylum requests have been heard, researched declined and then refuse to go back ? To me, it seems like political theater to have what seems like meaningless laws in place – laws mandating certain actions that are then quickly dismantled and dismissed by the virtue signaling partisan posturing of all who oppose the current president.
“That’s not who we are or should be as Americans”
Pretty tired of this trope. Who are we or should we be as parents or grandparents? Open borders has now become a legitimate topic and position for Neo-Liberals. Remember, you’ll be gone and your grandchildren will live then as Guatemalans live today. But it feels good, doesn’t it?