In what could only be described as a complete act of cowardice, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) canceled a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Tuesday just hours before they were scheduled to meet. The presumable reason: because ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan does not want to answer questions about the immigration raids last week in which more than 680 people were arrested.
House Democratic members requested the meeting to talk about deportation actions across the country last week. ICE officers arrested more than 680 immigrants in multiple states from Monday to Friday, officials said on Monday. About 75 percent of those detained had criminal records, according to ICE, although the agency did not break down the types of crimes and how many were solely immigration-related.
Immigration advocates want to understand how immigration enforcement will be different under this administration. But as we’ve come to expect from the current kleptocrats in power, Trump and company don’t believe they can be held accountable for anything—and they don’t feel it necessary to share information with the public.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), who signed onto the letter to Homan requesting a meeting, said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the cancelation was another indication that “the Trump administration does not seem to believe in transparency or sharing information with Members of Congress.”
“The Trump people are clearly ducking accountability and oversight,” he said. “This is unacceptable as rumors and fear circulate within cities and towns across America and ICE is too busy to meet with the CHC or key Democratic leaders? That just doesn’t fly.”
Apparently, Trump’s plans for the promised “deportation force” are in full swing—with no oversight and no one to stop them. And since we know that they are so racist and xenophobic that they were willing to even ban green card holders from the U.S., it wouldn’t be surprising if their next plan is to round up all immigrants—regardless of status. At this rate, we should all get ready to form an immigrant underground railroad to protect our immigrant friends and relatives and get them to friendlier territory. Canada, anyone?