Anatomy Of An ICE Arrest

They were on their way to work on a Friday morning. Two men, both originally from Honduras, didn’t know what to expect when flashing red and blue lights pulled them over. They expected some type of traffic infraction, perhaps a busted tail light. Instead, a man in a plaid shirt, sunglasses, and an armored vest walks up to the passenger side door. The vest identifies him as  Enforcement and Removal Operations (EPO), a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On the other side stands another man whose vest says “POLICE” but he’s not wearing a uniform that matches local police.

The driver immediately asks, “What’s going on? What did we do?”

“Open the door. We are with the police,” the ERO officer demands in Spanish. “Don’t talk.” He puts one hand on the passenger’s wrist and with the other menacingly points a stun gun at the man’s chest.

Again, the driver asks what they’ve done. Multiple officers, including some that can’t be seen, start yelling for the driver to open the door. The driver isn’t stupid. He knows his rights. “No, I’m scared. No, I’m scared. No, we’re scared. No, we’re scared. What did we do? I’m scared. What did we do,” he asks.

The ERO officer tucks his taser into his vest and says, “I’ll force you.”

Yet again, both men ask what they’ve done, their voices both showing frustration and fear from not getting an answer.

On the other side of the vehicle, the officer with the police vest demands, “Give me some ID! What’s your name? Hey! Look at me!”

The passenger tries to break free from the hand on his wrist. In response, the EPO officer says, “Yeah, he’s fighting.” Two more officers appear. One is from the Burea of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), and the other is from Homeland Security (HomSec). When the passenger puts his hands up, the ERO officer wraps his hand around his neck. The ATF officer pulls his taser. Together, the three officers drag the man out of the van and force him to the ground. No one is being gentle or respectful in any way.

The “police” officer again demands that the driver open the door. The driver looks over and sees that there are now four men attempting to restrain his friend.

The ATF agent now comes around to the driver’s side of the vehicle and warns, “Open that door or you’re gonna get tased.”

The driver doesn’t have a chance to respond. Another officer throws open the door and drags the driver out by his shoulders. Throughout the ordeal, both men continue to ask what they’ve done wrong. At no point do they receive an answer.

Welcome to life in the United States. There’s no way of knowing why these men were targeted or how ICE knew where they would be that morning. Were they tipped off? Had someone been following the men? Did a computer database flag them?

What’s most important is that neither of the men were told why they were being stopped. They were already in the midst of the ordeal before someone asked to see their ID, which should have been the first question asked. What if either of the men had been US citizens? One had a green car, but it may have recently expired. Can ICE treat anyone like this?

The chilling answer is yes. ICE has broad and perhaps unconstitutional powers because the president has declared a state of emergency regarding immigration.

Don’t think that skin color is a factor, either. On January 25, Berlin tattoo artist Jessica Brösche and her American girlfriend, Nikita Lofving were detained, and Brösche is still being held at an ICE detention facility, awaiting deportation back to Germany. She had her visa. She had her passport. There was no legal reason to detain her at all.

Anyone can be a target for deportation if ICE gets it in their squirrely heads to do so. At the very least, anyone can be roughly arrested and mistreated until citizenship is confirmed. Their powers are broad and the president has threatened retribution against anyone who tries to stop them. Local police have been threatened if they don’t assist with ICE raids when asked.

Construction, agriculture, senior care and hospitality employers say labor shortages will worsen as fear of being captured on their way to work has many workers staying home or hidden.

“Businesses across industries know what comes next when their workforce disappears — restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores struggling to stay open, food prices soaring, and everyday Americans demanding action,” says Rebecca Shi, chief executive of the American Business Immigration Coalition.

An estimated 20 percent of the U.S. labor force is foreign-born, and millions of immigrant workers lack legal immigration status. The impact is being felt not only in immigrant homes and communities but also in the industries that rely on immigrants as a source of willing and inexpensive labor. American consumers will inevitably feel the pain.

Is this really the way we want to live? Is this the way we want our neighbors to live? With prices already rising because of international tariffs, with more on the way, no one can afford what could be as much as another 20% jump in prices as immigrant workers continue to disappear. There’s no one standing in line to take their jobs. Few Americans are willing to work for the substandard wages often imposed on migrants. Even fewer people can actually make a decent living working these jobs.

As a country, we have to make a decision. Are we going to be humane and treat people civilly regardless of their origin, or are we willing to put our entire economy at risk because a felon tells us that immigrants are ‘bad people?’ Do we still have a national spine or not?

Someone has to make a stand.