Our President and his advisors were upset when the their policies and outrageous, targeted deportation goals resulted in the deaths of innocent people on American soil. Innocent until proven guilty is still the law of the land. Sadly the president’s outrage was not over the deaths of the innocents, but the agency’s reasonable efforts being made to curtail future deaths. Their view was this caution against the tragic deaths of innocents was a sign of weakness and the behavior of wimps. The President ordered the agency responsible for these deaths to stop being so concerned about a few deaths and resume full speed ahead. Who actually cares if a few innocent people die? We need to round up 2000 people in a tight time frame and whatever is necessary, including innocent deaths, is necessary. This unbelievable attitude is the unashamed, guilt free approach of our current leadership. Why are we at war with Iran if we are busy replicating their form of government on American soil? Surely the American people can’t support such stone cold sociopathy.

What our leaders are doing is violating the central spirit of what being American actually is. America was founded on the the revolutionary idea every single person was important and held certain rights as an individual human being with due process being one of them. Our President does not understand how deeply these ICE related deaths violate and insult the American spirit and proud history. These people lost their lives because of incompetence at the highest levels. The operations of ICE are in a political squeeze box and whatever you think of the agents, they are required to meet impossible goals in the human encounter to keep their jobs. The simple minded pressure to produce the massive numbers of arrests is a crime from the top for the consequences of death and injustice in such an operation are 100%. Such gross malfeasance in immigration law enforcement cannot continue.

Urgent Proposal for Good

Not to feel some small part of the pain of the families and communities from which the victims of these crimes came from is Un-American and morally reprehensible. Not to mourn these victims as a nation brings us to one of our lowest states in our history for we really have no idea of the extent of damage done behind the curtain of secrecy in the Detention Centers. If we accept these crimes committed in our names as citizens we may as well roll up those 4th of July flags and put them in the garage for we are undone. If resistance had a flag it would have the usual number of stars, but only three strips: one for justice, one for due process and one for compassion. The flag would could still be red, white and blue but the three stripes would remind us of what we have lost. That would be good.