Letter: ICE tactics unacceptable

A woman was held hostage in our community because authorities wanted her son (June 28th TCH story). A mom was picked up at work by men in an unmarked van, taken and held hostage. The authorities threatened to start deportation proceedings for his mom if he didn’t turn himself in by 3:00. This might be an acceptable technique if we were dealing with dangerous criminals but the son’s only offense was a DUI from 2011. An immigration judge already closed the case and decided not to pursue deportation. It is tempting to distance ourselves from this situation because this is only happening to people who came to this country illegally. But this is not how rule of law works. Rule of law is when “all members of a society (including those in government) are considered equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes.” If the government wanted to press charges against Leo, they have other options. They could send him a letter, discuss at required immigration check in, go to his home or work. It is not acceptable for authorities to hold people hostage. We can do better. Mirna and Leo Gomez deserve better.