A “status offender” is someone who has not committed a crime but is nonetheless subject to arrest because of his or her “status.” Immigrants without papers have not done anything really wrong except to be here in the U.S. without the proper papers. They may be law abiding, have a job, be raising a family, but they lack the crucial legal documents.
After Trump was elected I discussed my fears with a number of members of the Executive Board of the Palmerton Area Historical Society. They told me I was being paranoid. They said that the Trump administration would not be undertaking mass deportations. It would’t happen.
Guess what. ICE agents have upped the number of raids. We are now deporting thousands each month. The agents are not targeting rapists or “bad guys;” they are targeting ordinary men and women who “don’t have papers.” A New York Times reporter received permission to ride along on a raid in California. The ICE agents came at dawn, handcuffed the father (why the handcuffs; he had a family and his boys were American citizens not going anywhere), and took him to a detention center. No time to pack, no time to notify the employer.
Why are we doing this? Is an American citizen about to take over this man’s job? Does this make us better as a country?
Please do not comment saying this guy was here illegally and should be thrown out of our country. On so many levels–Christian theology, American traditions, empathy for the family–this is wrong, it is evil, and I never thought I would be a citizen of a country that would do this kind of thing. It makes me sick.
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