Seth Wessler

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “Humanizing” the Immigration Raids

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has adopted a set of humanitarian guidelines to be followed while carrying out work-site immigration raids. The guidelines aim to address criticisms of the raids that have happened across the country.

While there is a clear and immediate need for a major shift in regard to these raids, there is something deeply backward about the idea that we will simply “humanize” them. How can we humanize violence? Would it make it any less atrocious were an attacker to clean the blood off of their victim they just beat.

I know the analogy is not airtight but I don’t think it’s all that far off. Bringing order and procedure to the ICE raids could be important for families but if a 5-year-old kid’s mother is going to be deported anyway, there is no question that we have a larger and more pernicious problem. The raids need to end, not be scrubbed clean.

Posted at 6:37 AM, Nov 30, 2007 in Immigration | Permalink | View Comments