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'Is This What We Thought We'd See?': Becca Balint Claims That ICE's Goal Is To Create 'Mass Fear'
Forbes Breaking News
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4 days ago
In House floor remarks, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) tore into ICE.
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00:00
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Right now ICE is showing up at courthouses across the
00:12
country waiting to arrest people after their official immigration hearings. Is
00:18
this what we thought we'd see in America? ICE officials lying in wait to grab
00:23
people who are actually following the rules? In some cases these people had
00:29
just had their cases dismissed. They walked into court following the rules,
00:34
doing what they were told, following the legal pathways and they're being taken
00:39
into unmarked cars and fast-tracked for deportation. And let's be clear, this isn't
00:46
about catching dangerous criminals. It was never about catching dangerous
00:51
criminals. These are moms, these are dads, these are students, these are grandparents,
00:56
these are workers, people who are trying to get through the legal process the
01:01
right way. But ICE is turning our courthouses into traps. The very places
01:08
that immigrants are supposed to go to, to follow a legal path to citizenship, have
01:14
now become traps to lure people in so that they can be arrested, detained and
01:20
disappeared. ICE tricked a Vermonter, Mosa Madawi, he's been legally in our state for
01:26
10 years. He showed up for the final step in his citizenship process, the final step,
01:33
only to have masked men detain him after he exited the courthouse. He knew it was a
01:41
risk to show up, but he decided it was worth the risk to maybe finally become an
01:45
American. Imagine going to court following the process and then getting arrested the
01:54
second you step outside. That's what's happening in America right now. And last
01:58
month in San Francisco, four asylum seekers were taken by ICE after their
02:05
hearings were over. In New York City, even a city official, Comptroller Brad Lander,
02:11
was detained by ICE while trying to support an immigrant friend. If they are
02:17
willing to rough up city officials and mayors and even a sitting U.S. senator, what
02:24
does that mean for the rest of us? These tactics are to scare people and people are
02:30
now afraid to go to court. How does that possibly make our country more safe? People
02:37
are skipping hearings, risking automatic deportation because they don't trust the
02:42
system anymore. How is anyone supposed to follow the legal steps if even those are
02:50
now a risk? Republicans claim over and over again in committees that this is only
02:55
about illegal immigration. It's not. If that were the case, then they would be just
03:01
as outraged as I am that people are being snatched outside of their hearings in
03:08
court. It is an attack on due process, plain and simple. It's an attack on the
03:14
idea that we all deserve a fair shot in this country. It's also a clear tactic to
03:20
instill fear in all of us so that we will be intimidated into submission and we
03:27
will stop standing up for our neighbors. ICE agents without visible IDs, without any
03:34
official markings on them, with masks, they're acting more like vigilantes than
03:43
of agents of our government. How can we even trust that these are government
03:48
officials? It's nothing more than kidnapping and it needs to stop. No more
03:55
secret arrests, no more plainclothes agents waiting outside of courtrooms. This
04:00
kind of thing does not happen in democracies. It doesn't. The only way to
04:07
protect Americans from these abuses is to provide due process to anyone facing
04:14
deportation. Due process exists to protect American citizens, to protect all of us
04:21
from wrongful deportation and wrongful detention. But this administration does
04:27
not seem to care about this complete and total violation of our constitutional
04:33
rights. A right that we are all entitled to regardless of status. Under Trump, ICE and
04:42
DHS have become a means to carry out political arrests and to silence anyone
04:51
that disagrees with their extreme agenda. That's what we're looking at right now.
04:57
It's never been about removing the criminals. It's always been about creating
05:03
mass fear, mass intimidation, so they can retain more power. This is not what Americans want.
05:16
I need my Republican colleagues to fight for everyone in their districts. I need them to
05:22
speak up. Where is your line?
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