VIEWPOINT | ICE, police states threaten rights, democracy

Guest column by David Zokaites, citizen advocate

To keep us divided and distracted, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is dramatically increasing their deportation efforts. The ICE budget is set to triple to $30 billion in 2026. That will certainly fund more fear-based deportation. ICE uses techniques that belong in a dictatorship and not in a democracy. Their agents wear masks while arresting people and they work from unmarked vehicles. Our Constitution declares that "no one shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law," but ICE deports many people without hearings. We have the right to record police, but recording ICE can get you thrown in jail. ICE agents impersonate local police and business people to get inside our homes. They show administrative warrants and pretend they are judicial warrants that allow arrest. They arrest people trying to attend hearings. All of this should be thoroughly illegal. It's completely unethical – it should also be illegal.

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