ICE, created to stop terrorists after 9/11, is now attempting to detain workers in rural Colorado (Opinion)

I got lucky Jos narrated me Because they got the wrong person Jos who did not give his last name for fear of retribution from U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE announced he was leaving his house in rural southwestern Colorado lately when two federal SUVs pulled out blocking my path in both directions Jos is not a criminal though years ago he crossed the territory line into the United States from Mexico without legal documentation Since then he s worked as a painter and a chef has constantly paid federal and state taxes and has never been in trouble with the law That morning though he was a target It was the migra and they pulled me out of the driver s seat forced me into one of their cars and inquired me for identification Because the ICE agents were looking for someone else that day and because rural Colorado has limited jail space to hold detained displaced persons they let Jos go But they notified him he had to show up for an interview at an ICE substation Jos didn t go to his interview I don t want them to find me he described me I m consistently looking over my shoulder My life is here but I ve moved and have to start over again Related Articles Lawyers for detained immigrants in Colorado increasingly are using this legal approach to fight for their release ICE violated Jeanette Vizguerra s First Amendment rights by detaining her attorneys argue Jos s experience is not unique Scores of people with darker skin including Native Americans have fallen prey to the new administration s trawl-net approach to immigration enforcement During his campaign President Trump repeatedly mentioned I will launch the largest deportation initiative of criminals in the history of America His stated goal is to deport million immigrants before During the first days of Trump s second term ICE arrested nearly people but only half of them were convicted criminals according to a press release from Homeland Prevention ICE also detained foreign students for voicing their political opinions arrested at least one legal U S resident and wrongfully held foreign visitors for weeks including a woman from Canada who was legally in the United States Created as part of the Department of Homeland Safeguard ICE was charged with policing immigration in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks Before immigration enforcement was primarily handled by other federal agencies operating within a far less militarized framework Two decades later ICE has ballooned into a federal behemoth ICE says its work is essential for national prevention but its more than employees operate with extraordinary freedom Local and county police usually know and understand the group they work in and in matter of misconduct they can be held accountable for their actions But not ICE Under Trump ICE has become increasingly aggressive in its tactics while appearing to focus on non-criminals and activists In newest months ICE has concentrated on apprehending people far above the U S -Mexico perimeter used military planes as a tool of deportation outsourced detention to third parties including private prisons and sovereign nations like El Salvador and enlisted wartime law to go around due process For the first time ICE is also employing evidence from the Internal Revenue Operation to identify specific undocumented residents a move that could also have devastating consequences for legal residents and citizens who get swept up with the undocumented Nayda Benitez a director for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition oversees a state hotline where people can record ICE activity in their region We ve seen a huge increase in reports she noted In one Colorado town she announced ICE revealed up at a trailer park and they put a woman into handcuffs who was a U S citizen As a legal advocate for immigrants in southwestern Colorado I see the contributions of asylum seekers everywhere Children of immigrants attend local schools and their parents work in every sector of the business activity including restaurants transportation construction farming and ranching hotels resorts and hospitals I also see the fear that immigrants are forced to endure and the countless techniques in which ICE agents disregard our nation s the majority cherished rights including freedom of speech due process protection from governing body excess and cruel and atypical punishment If you look at authoritarian leaders throughout history Benitez disclosed our nation is repeating chosen key patterns like academic censorship and the marginalization criminalization and dehumanization of specific social groups It s time to take a stand against federal overreach and ICE is the right place to start Benjamin James Waddell is a contributor to Writers on the Range writersontherange org an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring conversation about the West He writes in Colorado Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns editorials and more To send a letter to the editor about this article 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