I’m sure nearly everyone living in the United States has heard of the recent uptick in immigration incidents. It seems like every day there are reports of U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike being forcefully arrested for seemingly no reason other than to terrorize.
Just a few examples of these include an incident where, according to The Independent, a 67-year-old U.S. citizen was tackled by ICE agents, breaking six of his ribs. On a different day, according to the Chicago Sun Times, a woman was shot five times after being accused of chasing ICE agents.
In a separate incident, also reported by the Chicago Sun Times, citizens were dragged out of their apartments in the middle of the night after having their doors beaten down and rooms searched without a warrant. According to the Los Angeles Times, Service Employees International Union California’s president was forcefully thrown to the ground and arrested during an unannounced raid at a warehouse in Los Angeles.
The list of federal mistreatment of citizens and noncitizens alike goes on and seemingly grows larger each day. Never before in my life have I seen so much footage of excessive force and blatant racial profiling in recent U.S. history on such a mass scale.
People are seemingly stopped at random on the street and interrogated for simply having an accent or looking a certain way.
The fact that a warrant for arrest was not filed for any of the cases listed above tells me that these weren’t specifically and methodically planned out operations. These arrests seem to happen anywhere at any time, with no legal reason being given.
I don’t feel any safer knowing that police officers or federal agents could theoretically break down my door and detain me without giving a reason why. Families across the U.S. have been ripped apart, their loved ones arrested and transported to various detention centers across the U.S., sometimes being sent to countries they’ve never even been to before.
How can I be expected to trust local law enforcement when men brandishing assault rifles and wearing masks are running amuck, and being paid to do so by our government no less?
On top of the uptick in arrests, there have been numerous occasions of masked officers throwing tear gas or flash bangs in public places seemingly at random. Multiple peaceful protests at ICE facilities across the nation were met with excessive force.
Protesters have been pepper sprayed and shot at with rubber bullets for daring to speak up against the injustice happening in their communities. Not only are these weapons sometimes explosive in nature, but they can inflict permanent damage to ones body.
It doesn’t sit right with me that our country, which was supposedly founded on the principles of freedom, justice and due process, is becoming a police state. The words “freedom” and “justice” are thrown around when talking about our judicial system, but the continued harassment perpetrated by those that consider themselves keepers of the peace says otherwise.
This not only hurts trust in the law all across the United States, but it makes places known for their diversity and international students, such as Kirkwood, less safe for those attending classes.
I expected better of the law, and my trust in those that claim to enforce it has been damaged. U.S. citizens and noncitizens don’t deserve to live in fear, and more importantly, Kirkwood students shouldn’t have to worry about being detained for no reason.
Categories: Editorials, Opinion
