Immigrants Being Snatched off the Streets

​I don't care if they are documented or not; no one should be treated the way ICE is treating people right now. They are forcefully removing people off the streets while in unmarked clothing, wearing masks, and not showing ID or a warrant. This is unacceptable.

​This behavior is also dangerous. It's only a matter of time before we hear about someone being snatched by a nefarious group, and they can't be found. By snatching people in this manner, ICE is making it easier for vigilantes to do the same. 

Let's discuss some examples and explore their reasons for being snatched.

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Say goodbye to having tattoos. 
This is what led to hundreds of men being sent to the El Salvador Prison because their tattoos were automatically assumed to be the mark of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. There was no due process for these men, no innocent until proven guilty, they were simply taken and sent away. This is still happening today. AP News Article.

Say goodbye to freedom of speech.
​This is what led to college students being snatched. The latest is Rumeysa Ozturk, who was taken off the streets of Somerville, Massachusetts, for writing a pro-Palestinian op-ed a year ago. What's sickening about this is that the students are here legally on a student visa, but the administration is revoking these visas without informing them.  PolitiFact article.

Say goodbye to reporting assault.
A woman in Michigan was assaulted at her job, and she reported it to the police. Instead of helping her, they called ICE on her. People in unmarked clothes swarmed her car, busted in her window, and dragged her out of her driver's seat. People wonder why women don't come forward or trust the police. Cause shit like this happens. 

Say goodbye to looking/speaking Spanish.
A citizen was snatched off the streets for looking "Mexican" and was detained for hours never being questioned about his citizenship. It wasn't until agents finally looked at his ID that he was released. Then there was the Puerto Rican family that was taken for speaking Spanish in a grocery store. 

Say goodbye to traveling.
While you are free to leave, you are not free to return. There has been news about legal immigrants being put on planes and sent away and others simply being taken and detained. This has become such a thing that there are more than half a dozen countries that have a travel advisory for their citizens when coming to the U.S. Our tourist cities are already feeling the pain of this.

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What scares me is that,  as a Puerto Rican Woman who speaks her mind, I fit into four out of five of these reasons. I already carry multiple forms of IDs, am close to getting my hands on pepper spray and never leaving my house without my white husband, and am prepared to be stopped at customs when I come back from the London trip we're taking in a few weeks. 

​And I find it really sad.

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Some examples of the horrendous behavior by ICE.