How to Stop the Horrors of ICE

It seems impossible that the president of the United States ordered the murders of at least 130 helpless Venezuelans in the last few weeks and nobody is even talking about it anymore.

And yes, it was murder. Even if the victims were transporting drugs, and no evidence has been presented that they were, drug running is not a capital crime. No conclusion can be drawn other than that each person was murdered. Premeditated, first-degree murder.

But we’re not talking about that anymore because now he’s causing, and defending, the murders of American citizens in Minneapolis.

A quick recap:

First was Renee Good, a peaceful, unarmed 37-year-old woman whom an ICE agent shot three times while she was slowly driving in her S.U.V. The shooter, ICE goon Jonathan Ross, then walked up to her car, looked in, muttered “damn bitch,” and, although she was still alive, walked away without offering any help, got in his truck, and drove away. The official response was that she was a “domestic terrorist” and deserved what she got. Local authorities were not allowed to investigate.

Then, last Saturday, ICE agents shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37-year-old VA nurse. Video from the scene, verified by The New York Times, shows this scene: Pretti is directing traffic on a street out of an area with ICE agents around, but stops to help a woman get up after ICE agents pushed her to the ground. At least seven agents surround Pretti, shoot pepper spray into his face although he is holding his hands up, one hand with a cellphone in it and the other empty, force him to the ground and hit him as he appears to be trying to keep his head off the ground. An agent removes a gun from Pretti’s waistband (he had a permit and was carrying it legally) and walks away with it. A shot rings out and Pretti stops moving. Then nine more shots ring out. A doctor who quicky examined his body at the scene said he had been shot in the back “at least three times.” And again, local authorities were not allowed to investigate.

The official version of that incident?

The Department of Homeland Security said the episode began when Pretti approached Border Patrol agents “with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun” in his hand and they tried to disarm him.
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official in charge of agents in Minnesota, said Pretti was attempting to murder the agents. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said Pretti was seeking to murder federal agents. “A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, “This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” She called her assertion of “domestic terrorism” just “the facts.”
Donald Trump said the ICE agents were “patriots” who were left unassisted by the local police as they sought to detain “violent immigrants.”

And if that weren’t enough, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that he could “bring back law and order to Minnesota” if he handed over the state’s voter rolls to the Department of Justice, which Walz refuses to do.

All that comes on top of this malignant narcissist Trump turning our families, friends and communities against one another; trying to shred our 250-year-old democracy by becoming the dictator he promised he would be; denying American children and helpless elderly people food and medicine so he and his billionaire buddies can stuff the money saved into their own pockets; allowing hundreds of thousands, approaching a million, of foreigners to die by canceling USAID programs, again so the money saved can go into billionaires’ pockets; arresting any people of color, any color but white, including American citizens, and either deporting them or sending them to cold and filthy detention centers where they are denied decent food and medicine; turning our best friends, such as Canada and Europe, into our enemies, while supplying our enemies, such as Russia and China, with reasons to celebrate; using his powers as president to line his and his families’ pockets with, according to The New York Times, a staggering $1.4 billion; announcing a virtual anti-United Nations “Board of Peace” that gives him and him alone the power to veto decisions, approve the agenda, invite members, dissolve the board entirely and designate his own successor – in other words, become the world dictator; musing that we should cancel the 2026 midterm elections; and so, so much more.

So it’s no wonder that we’re not talking much about our president murdering all those Venezuelans.

But We the People are not helpless unless we choose to be. And today, of all days, there is something important that we all can do — must do! – to make a difference.

This week, the Senate will vote on bipartisan legislation to fund a big chunk of the government, including $64.4 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and $10 billion for ICE. The measure requires the support of Democrats to muster the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster, and after those Minneapolis murders, Democrats appear to be united in their opposition — even though it could lead to another government shutdown.

Recognizing the depth of Democratic outrage, Senate Republicans immediately began trying to find a way to separate the Homeland Security funding from the rest of the package. If they succeed, the bulk of what had been a bipartisan deal can be preserved and another government shutdown will be averted.

But if they cannot find a way, I say shut it down. Personally, I wouldn’t give a damn. I had rather we return to the lawless Old West days than to live under a government that murders its own people.

So, what to do?

Pick up your phone right now, before you forget, dial 202-224-3121, ask for your senator by name, and tell him/her to vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security’s budget. Democratic senators will appreciate your support, and Republicans will know you are watching and that you vote.

But that alone is not enough. Jackie Summers, a Black woman quoted by Indivisible, points out that there are four basic lanes available in which all of us can participate:

Helpers – Anyone can give personal, individual assistance. Support can be verbal, emotional, physical or financial.
Advocates – People who are embedded in the system can use their knowledge and influence to navigate and reinvent from within.
Organizers – Visionaries who see the big picture can bring resources and talents together.
Rebels – Indomitable spirits bring passion and energy. They are audacious risk-takers who are willing to bear the brunt of criticism.

But if you possibly can – and most of us can because I’ve seen them in wheelchairs – put your body on the street at the next anti-Trump rally near you. The bigger the crowds, the more Washington pays attention. Big, enthusiastic, peaceful crowds also encourage nonvoters to vote.

Individual participation matters, and rarely in American history has it mattered more than it does now. And rarely has it been truer that if you don’t do something to solve the problem, you are the problem.

We must win, we can win, and we will win — but only if we do something to help. So please, do something. Anything. Today.

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