An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson choosing to resign rather than continue peddling lies for Trump officials only adds to the argument from immigrant and human rights activists to have the agency reined in—others are calling for the agency to be abolished all together—but it’s also a reason to worry, says immigrant rights leader and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient Juan Escalante. After all, the agency that has no qualms about lying about even the most basic facts, like the size of a raid, is seeking to expand in size, power and force, and with our tax dollars:
Right now, Congress is debating the federal budget, and the Trump administration is frothing at the mouth over the idea of obtaining money for additional ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents, the “beautiful” and racist border wall, and extra beds within private immigration detention centers.
That means that your tax money could be going toward the incarceration and deportation of immigrants like Felix Garcia, a loving father and valued community member in Georgia. Garcia, like many of the immigrants ICE is currently targeting, has no criminal record ― and now stands to lose his livelihood in the United States and not see his eldest daughter graduate from medical school.
Following an ICE raid targeting California several weeks ago, Donald Trump, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, and acting ICE director Thomas Homan repeatedly lied about several aspects of the operation. When ICE spokesperson James Schwab wanted the agency to correct the information, he was rebuffed. So he resigned. "I just couldn't bear the burden,” he said, “continuing on as a representative of the agency and charged with upholding integrity, knowing that information was false.” But, the liars remain, and they have no qualms about continuing to spread lies to advance their anti-immigrant agenda. And, they want more power to do it:
“All of these threads tie up to a single and common theme: We cannot take our eyes off of Trump or his deportation force,” Escalante continues. “Not even for a second.” And, that means holding Congress accountable while looking to 2018 for change. “Just as we call our elected officials to demand action on immigration, gun control, health care and other critical issues facing our country, we must also demand that they hold the agencies they fund with our tax dollars accountable. So just as you pick up the phone to fight for or against that bill, remember to also ask your members of Congress to defund an agency that, in the words of The Washington Post’s Molly Roberts, acts as an “immigrant disposal system.”
