On Oct. 5, the Border Patrol carried out its second military-style raid in two months against Byrd Camp, a No More Deaths humanitarian aid camp near Arivaca, AZ. Twelve people who were receiving care at the camp were detained. No More Deaths is a volunteer group that tries to save immigrants crossing the Sonoran Desert from dying for lack of food, water and medical care.
In a press release, No More Deaths said the Border Patrol “descended on the camp with an armored tank, ATVs, a helicopter, and many marked and unmarked vehicles. Agents armed with assault rifles chased and terrorized those that were receiving care, all while the helicopter hovered low above them kicking up dust and debris, making it nearly impossible to see. Border patrol smashed windows, broke doors, and destroyed essential camp infrastructure as well as supplies.”
Meanwhile, the Trump administration in September announced a new effort to target sanctuary cities with ICE raids during October. In fact, the ICE raids have been going on almost continuously across the country for years.
In fiscal year 2019 (Oct. 1, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2019), ICE arrested about 143,000 people and deported more than 267,000. The New York Times reports that, “Since mid-July 2020, immigration agents have taken more than 2,000 people into custody from their homes, workplaces and other sites, including a post office, often after staking them out for days.” Some of those deported have lived in this country for decades, and are now separated from their children.
These raids are reminiscent of the Nazis rounding up the Jews in Germany, which helped make Germany a dictatorship in the 1930s and 40s. If we allow our immigrant brothers and sisters to be dehumanized in this way, all of us will lose our humanity and we will lose any semblance of democracy. No human being is illegal! Stop deportations! Abolish ICE!
