Immigration Enforcement Tactics Must Change Now!

I write knowing you answer to citizens, not spectacle. What we are seeing now—militarized ICE raids, tear gas in neighborhoods, arrests of U.S. citizens—is not law enforcement. It is political theater dressed as enforcement. How does that make Americans safer, or reduce inflation, or secure borders? It doesn’t. It damages trust, chills communities, and allocates billions into chaos, not solutions. In Chicago ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” over 1,000 people have been arrested. A federal judge has now ordered agents to wear body cameras after videos show tear gas, masked forces, and agents operating without visible ID. (U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ruling) A WGN-TV producer—a U.S. citizen—was detained during a raid, forced to the ground, and transported in an unmarked van. She was released without charges. (The Guardian report) These tactics erode civil liberties and disregard due process. Even more alarming: a U.S. citizen with a cognitive disability, Julio Noriega, was wrongfully detained in suburban Chicago for ten hours—without being asked about his citizenship, then released with no record of his arrest. (Immigration detention and deportation reports) That’s not tough enforcement. That’s lawless overreach. And when the government acts without accountability, we sacrifice the rule of law. You have the power to demand better. Call for hearings. Require transparency in arrests, use of force, and coordination between federal, state, and city agencies. Legislate clear limits on ICE operations so they cannot trample on our rights. Defend the promise that America enforces its laws without becoming a police state. I expect you to speak for all citizens—not just the fearful, not just the loudest—while protecting our Constitution, dignity, and safety.