When federal immigration enforcement agents deployed to Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and other places around North Carolina, terrifying and haphazard arrests ensued. Graig Meyer has some questions for the people behind the masks.
Dear ICE Agent Who Wears a Mask,
I believe both you and I love our families, want our communities to feel safe, feel responsible for making the world a better place, and want our country to live up to its ideals.
Even with that common ground, we make very different decisions. I struggle to understand why you would join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and I have a lot of questions for you.
I’m sure there are reasons you took this job. What are they? How much of your decision is financial, and how much is based on your beliefs? Have you ever thought about whether this job is the best purpose for your life? What else could you be doing to build a safer community and a stronger country?
Immigration enforcement is based on the belief that immigrants are harming us in some way. How do you describe that harm? What would it take for you to think about immigrants as individuals, with different lives and histories? How can they earn your trust and respect?
To the extent that you are focused on getting “criminals” off the street, you have general support. No one is protesting your actions to detain true criminals, particularly dangerous criminals, so long as they receive due process.
But what does “criminal” actually mean to you? Are people criminals if their only crime is being unlawfully present — a misdemeanor? I assume that you and I both know our immigration system is broken and doesn’t leave people with many pathways. What do you think is an appropriate consequence someone should face for a misdemeanor charge? Under what circumstances should that consequence include violence?
You want people who have immigrated here illegally out of our country. Do you have any friends or neighbors who are undocumented? Have you ever hired workers who don’t have papers? Have you thought about how many undocumented people might be picking the produce you eat, washing your dishes when you eat a restaurant, or delivering your UberEats?
Speaking of breaking laws, in North Carolina, it’s illegal to wear masks to conceal your identity. You wear a mask. This means you’ve broken a law. What consequence should you pay for breaking that law? How do you justify breaking that law? Is it worse for some people to break laws than others?
Some of the people you pick up are here legally. Some are American citizens. Yet you apprehend them just because of the color of their skin. What do you tell yourself about such a reckless approach? How do you justify putting people at risk based on the color of their skin, not because of anything they have done? Would you feel differently if white people were being repeatedly misapprehended? Why aren’t you detaining white people?
When you’re in our communities, you face immense shame. People yell at you, curse at you, degrade you. What do you tell yourself when they do? How do you balance your job versus their rights? What empathy do you have for people’s anger and fear? Could you take different actions to make our community safe without inciting such anger?
My children asked me how to protect their friends from you. What do you tell your children about your work? What would you say to my children, whom you’ve made scared and angry? What would you say to the children who have seen videos of you violently apprehending their mother or father?
I also talked with educators recently about their students staying home from school out of anger or fear. One principal told me he had whole classrooms with no students in them. In Charlotte, officials said 20,000 students missed school one day. Another 30,000 students protested you and your actions. What does it mean to you that many of our children are learning to distrust and protest their own government because of you?
Meanwhile, businesses across North Carolina have closed. Construction sites shut down because they didn’t have workers. How much of this disruption to our lives and our economy is worth it for your actions?
Finally, do you ever wonder what you would have done at important moments throughout history? Would you have been a fugitive slave catcher, or would you have been part of the Underground Railroad? Would you have helped Anne Frank hide in your attic or turned her over to the Nazis? How do you think your descendants will look back on your choice to join ICE now?
I look forward to hearing your answers. You can send me back any questions you have for me. Email me at graig@beaconmedianc.org.
Graig Meyer is the founder of Beacon Media and a member of the North Carolina Senate. This column is syndicated by Beacon Media and is available to republish for free on all platforms under Beacon Media’s guidelines.
