My family had an unexpected encounter with ICE a few days ago. I’ve been hesitating whether to share the story, because it’s nothing that’s not happening hundreds or thousands of times a day in this country. No one really needs another example or reminder. However, it’s still stressing me so consider this my therapy session.
To provide a little context: I’m a caucasian female in my seventies, born in a midwestern US state. My husband is a caucasian male in his seventies, born in a midwestern US state. We have three adopted children, all in their twenties. All of the kids were (provably) born in the United States and were adopted from foster care during our many years as foster parents. Two of the three are of mixed ethnic backgrounds although they’re all American citizens — and would be citizens under the circumstances of their adoptions even if they hadn’t been born in the United States which, again, they were.
A few days ago, ICE raided the retail store where my twenty year old son works. My son has very dark hair, brown eyes and a “medium” complexion. It would be difficult to guess his ethnic background if he didn’t volunteer it, which he never does. He’s been concerned since high school that, if he told people his birth father was of Middle Eastern descent, they might hold it against him. We’ve always been upfront with the kids about the circumstances of their time in foster care and their adoptions, and emphasized that anything their birth parents did was not their fault and is nothing for them to be embarrassed about. However, we’ve also left it up to them to decide whether to share that information with others.
When ICE initially entered the store where my son works, they said they were looking for a specific employee, who wasn’t in the store at the time. However, they seemed to think my son’s appearance was suspicious. (He has no criminal record, not even a traffic citation, so they had no basis other than his appearance for suspecting him of … whatever they suspected.) They asked for his ID, and he gave them his Real ID. That wasn’t good enough for them, so they pulled him aside and questioned him on his place of birth, his parents, etc.. At some point during the interrogation, when they asked about his parents, my son (who was understandably flustered) told them he was adopted. That response generated another round of questions, some of which he was unable to answer. For example, they demanded to know his birth parents’ full names and where they were born. I know my son’s birth mother was born in the US but, as far as I recall, my husband and I were never told where his birth father was born. What difference could it possibly have made?
Eventually, ICE gave my son back his ID and they left. He’s still rattled, though, and his boss suggested he not come in for a few days. An overzealous ICE person could easily take him into custody and “disappear” him, leaving little evidence of what happened and where he was taken. Since he lives and works in a different town than the one where my husband and I live, we might not know for days if he went missing, and we might not have many clues as to what happened to him.
So mine should be added to all the other cautionary stories you see: Don’t be complacent. ICE is looking to fill quotas, and a young guy behind the counter of a retail store is a much easier target than those “gang members and criminals” ICE is supposedly apprehending and deporting.
