ICE – The Good Guys Or The Gestapo Reincarnated?

As we could have foreseen, the Trump administration’s efforts to deport millions of illegal immigrants have run into fierce resistance, both in the political sphere and in the courts (which, unfortunately, have largely become political entities). And, as I noted in a previous article, Democrats are up in arms about the alleged lack of “due process” in handling deportations. We, as a nation, have seemingly reached an impasse on this critical issue. How can we possibly resolve this with the two sides so far apart?

To understand why Democrats are so passionate about protecting illegal immigrants, we need to go beyond the standard arguments, such as:

1. Illegals are doing the jobs that are difficult to find Americans to perform, and more cheaply. Yes, this is part of the problem with devising an agreeable deportation strategy, but some Republicans are guilty of this desire also.
2. The more illegals that can be put on a path toward citizenship, including the right to vote, the better off the Democrats will be. There is some truth to this, although not necessarily to the extent Democrats wish.

Hovering above these obvious arguments is the Dems’ over-arching belief that, in a post-Watergate, post-January 6^th, and current Trump world, they still hold the moral high ground in any political debate. Never mind what the Biden “administration” just put us through, or the numerous scandals in the Obama administration (when they claimed there were none), not to mention Bill Clinton’s foibles. The Dems, by and large, still believe they are the “righteous” party. If you need further proof, you need look no further than their behavior post-2024 election. We’re still waiting for the Dems to do a true post-mortem about the real reasons they lost and how they plan to change course in the future. Don’t hold your breath.

Dems are definitely the party of no shame, replacing that trait with utter brazenness. I could be mistaken, but it seems like the term “doubling down” was invented during Barack Obama’s presidency – every time it seemed like he had been shamed into backing off some extreme measure, he came out more forcefully in favor of it. This pattern has been followed by the Dems ever since, and is certainly being followed now. How else do you explain ultra-left gun-grabber David Hogg’s advancement to vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, and the Dems’ refusals to back down from supporting biological males in women’s sports? Or their refusal to back off their support of the illegals, including those who are committing egregious crimes in America? No matter how much they may deny the last part of that claim, the arrest of the Wisconsin judge who harbored an illegal with a criminal history speaks volumes about their true intentions.

It is because of their claim and supposition to be the “righteous” party that the Dems can hold their positions without batting an eye. This includes painting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as modern-day versions of the infamous Gestapo in Nazi Germany. In predictable fashion, the so-called “mainstream” media have cherry-picked their coverage to make it appear that ICE agents are focused on ripping innocent people from their families, good jobs, etc., instead of getting dangerous criminals off the streets. And in a manner reminiscent of the George Floyd riots in 2020, the demonstrations against ICE and deportations have been described as “mostly peaceful” and “organic,” although they are provably neither.

Here is Google/AI’s description of ICE’s mission, surprisingly apolitical: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) primarily focuses on enforcing immigration laws within the United States. This includes identifying, arresting, detaining, and removing individuals who are not legally authorized to be in the country. ICE also investigates and prosecutes individuals involved in human smuggling, trafficking, and other immigration-related crimes. Essentially, ICE's actions are geared towards maintaining the integrity of U.S. immigration laws and protecting national security.” If this sounds like a common-sense and necessary activity, maybe that’s because it is!

So, how do we fix the seemingly unfixable? For starters, we need to take as much politics out of ICE’s job as we can, so they can do their jobs effectively without excessive stress and interference. Here are a couple of ideas that could help:

1. Issue #1 above can be addressed by a return to genuine welfare reform, along the lines of the bill passed during Bill Clinton’s presidency, thanks to Newt Gingrich’s leadership as House Speaker. Unfortunately, this legislation was watered down during Obama’s presidency and lost a lot of its teeth. By restoring the salient aspects of the original bill, there would be more incentive for Americans to return to work and perhaps take jobs that illegals are now doing. And fewer incentives for illegals to stick around.
2. Resolving Issue #2 will be trickier, since this has been a major bone of contention between the political parties for many years. However, Republicans should have more incentive now than in the past to offer paths to citizenship for immigrants who have earned the right by behaving as responsible adults. This, of course, would include genuine efforts to assimilate regarding language, respect for all, etc. After all, President Trump has made major inroads into Democrat-assumed minority voting blocs, so nothing should be taken for granted regarding voting habits of any group in the future.

In my opinion, only by moving forward with concrete proposals that both parties can somehow agree upon will this immigration impasse ever be resolved. Republicans, for once, should be proactive in carrying the ball forward with common-sense ideas that the public will support.