Berrien’s ICE agreement is not a ‘safe option’

I attended the town hall meeting with Sheriff Chuck Heit, sponsored by We the People and moderated by Pastor Dan Robinson at the Zion St. Joseph UCC church, on April 29. Kudos to Pastor Dan who gently and firmly moderated, and kudos to We the People who made the evening possible. I was not surprised to see The HP headline: “Sheriff: ICE agreement ‘safest option’” because he made the “safe” assertion repeatedly during the two-hour meeting. I was left wondering: 

Safe for whom?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not the ICE George W. Bush created as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 following the Sept. 11 attacks. ICE has changed, and not for the better. Donald J. Trump claimed that they would deport “the worst of the worst criminals.” ICE carried out by Kristi Noem, Steven Miller, Tom Homan and Greg Bovino is intentionally reckless, cruel, terrifying and lawless, and 70 percent of those taken into custody under Trump thus far have no criminal record at all. Newly hired ICE officers are insufficiently trained, wear masks to hide their identity, and do not provide due process or warrants. They smash car windows, cut seatbelts and drag people out of their cars by their hair. Stephen Miller’s statement that “ICE officers can essentially do whatever they want” is appalling and dangerous.

Again I ask: Safe for whom? 

Sheriff Heit mentioned that Berrien County has had an ICE agreement for 23-plus years. Then why did he feel compelled to sign the new “voluntary” ICE agreement that only six of 83 Michigan counties have signed? ICE has changed, and our community, our neighbors, our friends are being terrorized and forced to hide. Perception is reality, and the sheriff is squandering the goodwill of folks in Berrien County by standing by his decision to sign 287(g), which he considers the “safest option.” Really Sheriff Heit? I’m quite certain that Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti would disagree with that assessment if they hadn’t been brutally killed by ICE in Chicago and in Minneapolis.

Safe? Safe for whom? 

This is a chilling description – “Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. ... Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”

This could have easily been written today in America, but it is a quote from Anne Frank in the spring of 1943. I remember reading “The Diary of Anne Frank” when I was just 11 years old. I was appalled by her description and I wondered: How could it be possible that neighbors didn’t help neighbors? I remember thinking, “Thank goodness we live in America where nothing like this would be tolerated.”

Rescinding the recent 287(g) agreement signed by Sheriff Heit will go a long way toward restoring trust and faith in government in Berrien County.

Deborah Carter

St. Joseph