Taking back our streets
Many of us are troubled by the serious rift in law and order resulting from the deployment of evidently poorly vetted and poorly disciplined officers of immigration and customs enforcement to cities run by Democrats. Offenses include violations of the following norms and laws governing law enforcement: use of excessive and even lethal force, racial profiling, false arrest or imprisonment, discriminatory stops, harassment or use of slurs, unreasonable searches or seizures, and refusal to provide medical care to detainees.
Fortunately, our Legislature is considering three bills that will help rein in these abuses, and they could use some support and encouragement. The Safe Communities Act limits local and state cooperation with ICE, protects due process, and keeps police from asking about immigration status. That’s not their job! The Dignity Not Deportations Act ends voluntary ICE contracts in Massachusetts, stopping local participation in federal deportations. Do you want your local taxes going to harassing people? Finally, the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund provides legal representation for immigrants facing removal proceedings so they aren’t forced to navigate the system alone. This will help stem the injustices that are being inflicted on our friends and neighbors. These measures are widely supported by our western Massachusetts congressional delegation, but it never hurts to check, and if your rep. is supportive, tell them how much you appreciate it. They are putting up with a lot, give them a boost! And it gives them ammo advocating on Beacon Hill.
And don’t forget to give your national delegation some love, too. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren are challenging the Department of Homeland Security on reports of abuse at demonstrations or at the camps where detainees are concentrated. Markey and Ayanna Pressley have introduced The Qualified Immunity Abolition Act that gives victims the right to sue federal law enforcement officers for civil rights violations and abolishing the defense of qualified immunity in these suits. The expanded legislation would help deliver accountability for families abused by law enforcement, including ICE agents.
It’s easier of course to lapse into hopelessness, but there are clear cases in which this administration has yielded to public pressure. So if you wake up each morning with a cloud over your head, don’t despair, take action! Encourage and support our legislators, and join your neighbors on the street to keep everyone’s attention on these injustices.
Dave King
Amherst
