What might the forced removal of the undocumented look like?

My vision of what forced removal of the undocumented might look like has changed recently. I’ve been hearing more and more about not only this possibility but this reality. I had trouble describing who these “undocumented” are? To me they are kids that I’ve watched growing up. They are the parents or brothers and sisters of these kids. They are people who have blessed me by including me into their community.

Now I see news reports showing wives crying over their husbands being removed from them. I see the fear in the expressions of friends who get texts reporting ICE raids near their homes. I watch as they quickly call to their families to spread the word. I hear of conversations going on at home when a documented mother of 6 kids born in the states explains to them that her paperwork for a renewal is delayed. Now she might face deportation if pulled over for a traffic ticket or broken tail light.

People are getting scared. They cry as they ask for assurance that things will be OK. But what can we say to them? They hear __ “Get ‘em outta here!” Don’t worry. We are only talking about the “bad” ones. But the lines become less clear as I hear about undocumented families from Central America being detained for over a year in facilities that resemble the camps for Japanese internment during WWII. Yes, and I heard about the MS13 gangs being arrested. These becomes the faces of “undocumented” that gets seen instead of those I know.

Ok, I missed that description before. “undocumented” equals “criminal aliens”. That is how it is framed. That is how it begins. History is being repeated. How was it different in 1940 when people began using labels for displaced Jews or Gypsies who didn’t fit in to Christian Germany. They became blamed for economic or societal downturns. It would be better if they were removed from the neighborhood. Round them up and lock them up. Call them “aliens” and then if they don’t comply with all your laws they are “criminal aliens”.

It is different now, right? We are only going after the bad guys. Or we are blocking refugees from war torn areas because there might be bad dudes among them. We will clean the streets of all the gangs and drugs and violence by targeting the bad guys. And if you look like them or have an accent or dress like them then you can go too. The hatred that is stirred up in this movement spills out into racial battles and burning of mosques and desecration of Jewish cemeteries and hate crimes. Hate breeds hate.

I can’t be quiet in this. I was thinking that my friends from Mexico needed my help in some way. I realized that we are also affected deeply by all of this rhetoric. How much more will we all be affected as families are torn apart or hide in fear that they will be next? If I speak out will I be labeled also? Probably. If I remain silent do I forfeit the freedoms and values that I hold. Liberty and justice for all! Love your neighbor as yourself!