How do we come back from this?
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I typed up the following for friends of mine that as of now are indifferent to what's happening and will no longer be friends of mine if they don't figure it out.
What are we doing people? Regardless of what you may think about undocumented immigrants (whom just so you know provide a very net benefit to society on a multitude of levels), this fascist behavior is 100% un-American. At least the America I grew up in. This is barbaric, evil, embarrassing, inhumane and outright disgusting. This is not a political statement - it's factual and born of the desire for every one of us to live freely and without fear of the government. 80% of ICE detentions (per their own freaking data) do not have criminal records. So what is the point here? How are we as a nation in a better place than we were before all of this started? Before businesses started shutting down, before mothers were separated from the children.
How many of you are familiar with the following factually documented events?
We have the case of 10th-grader Arnoldo Bazan. A citizen. Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold. "We're from the United States bro!' he screamed. Agents took and sold his phone And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
There’s the 17 y.o. kid picked up outside a target, driven 8 miles away, after ICE discovered he was a citizen tossed him out of the van, bruised and bloodied without a cell phone forcing him to walk until he found someone that could help.
There’s caught on video an ICE agent following a HANDCUFFED woman into a single-person porta potty for and remaining in there with her for several minutes.
We know there as a protester that was blinded and had his skull fractured by DHS agents during Santa Ana demonstration.
4 male ICE agents tackled a female U.S. citizen—lifted her off ground with no concern over groping her breast or exposing her midriff. "Help me! Help me!" she cried out. "Check my ID!" Agents shoved her into the back of an SUV hitting her head.
Two arrested U.S. citizens detailed ICE's gestapo tactics in Minnesota, including an offer to pay money for the names of illegal immigrants or protest organizers. You might be aware Stalin and Hitler offering up the same to their citizens 80 years ago.
A teenage boy was walking home in Minneapolis yesterday when four masked men jumped out of a van & questioned him - with no parent or guardian present. He was bundled into the van & taken away. Bystanders heard the boy say: “Can I just go home?”
We have top DOJ officials resigning because their division is refusing to investigate the shooting of Good. Won’t even investigate?
38 people at a Naturalization ceremony in Indianapolis were removed, despite doing everything they are supposed to do in order to become naturalized. I thought we were only going after the criminals?
ICE agents broke the window of the car of a 17 y.o. on his school lunch break telling him they don’t care if he’s a U.S. citizen.
A Chicago business owner died while in ICE custody. They arrested him when he showed up for his GREEN CARD interview. Again someone being made to suffer (in this case die) despite doing everything the right way to becoming documented. He had documented health issues. ICE admitted he wasn’t a safety risk but refused to release him on bond even after being ordered to do by a judge.
We know about American Citizen Mannny Castillo. On November 19, 2025, masked, armed ICE agents harassed and detained him while he slept in his work truck — even though he’d done nothing wrong.
George Retes an American citizen and army combat veteran who was on his way to work in southern CA had his car stopped, windows smashed, was pepper-sprayed, dragged from his vehicle and was detained for 3 days without cause.
DHS has confirmed 85% of those detained by ICE so far do not have a criminal record. They aren’t sending ICE after gang members, rapists nor the worst of the worst. There has not been a single arrest over the Epstein files. Instead they’re going after business owners, teenagers, people with jobs, people without criminal records and people that are taking the legal steps to become citizens.
Detainees in ICE facilities are allowed to work to make money. Sounds great right? SThey earn $1 per day. It costs $5 for them to make one phone call to their family.
Meanwhile this administration pardoned Jason Schwartz. Schwartz was sentenced in federal court in New Jersey to 36 months in prison for failing to pay $38 million in withholding taxes for employees of his nursing home empire and failure to file required IRS forms about employee benefit plans. He was also ordered to pay $5 million in restitution, which Trump’s pardon negated.
There’s more-
- Trevor Milton, an electric-truck company owner, who had been convicted of securities fraud and wire fraud in 2023 and sentenced to four years in prison. He was ordered to pay $676m in restitution.
- Ross William Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an online marketplace that sold illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Ulbricht had been convicted of aiding and abetting the distribution of drugs over the internet, continuing criminal enterprise, computer hacking conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. He had been sentenced to life in prison. (Ulbricht’s pardon fulfilled a Trump campaign promise.) Ulbricht was ordered to pay almost $184m.
- HDR Global Trading Limited, operator of a cryptocurrency exchange that had been ordered to pay a $100m fine for violating the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money laundering provisions.
- Lawrence Duran, owner of American Therapeutic Corp, a Miami-area mental health company, convicted of multiple counts related to healthcare fraud; Duran was sentenced to 50 years in prison and $87.5m in restitution.
For those of you that insist undocumented immigrants are a scourge on America take note-
Myth: They steal jobs and lower wages.
• Fact: Immigrants fill essential jobs, create demand for goods, and support businesses, often boosting overall employment and wages for native-born workers; studies show minimal negative impact on U.S. worker employment or pay.
Myth: They don't pay taxes.
• Fact: Undocumented immigrants pay billions in federal, state, and local taxes, including income, sales, and property taxes (through rent), often using ITINs (Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers).
Myth: They are criminals.
• Fact: Research consistently shows immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens, and many detained immigrants lack criminal records, challenging the idea that they increase crime.
Myth: They are a drain on the economy and social services.
• Fact: Their tax contributions and economic activity often outweigh the costs, with studies finding positive or neutral fiscal impacts, and they contribute significantly to essential sectors like agriculture, hospitality, and construction.
Myth: They don't want to learn English or assimilate.
• Fact: English proficiency grows significantly by the second generation, mirroring historical immigration patterns, with high rates of fluency among children of immigrants.
Myth: They don't contribute to society.
• Fact: Many start businesses, play crucial roles in key industries, and integrate into communities, contributing in numerous non-economic ways. In fact immigrants start their own business at a higher rate than natural born citizens.
Answer me this if you don’t care about all of the above - how are we better as a country right now than before all this started? Seriously – I want facts, data, anecdotes. How are we benefitting knowing everything I’ve already shared about how undocumented people are a net positive to the country while we terrorize, kidnap and allow people to die without justification? How? Before you answer keep in mind for every example of a criminal being arrested by ICE, there are 4 more that did not.
I’m sorry to keep going on about this but when will the message finally get through that THIS IS NOT OK? When will we gain back our humanity and our sense of care for our fellow human beings?
Arrest the criminals, the rapists, the thieves, murderers, drug dealers, thugs and the like. But that’s not who is being targeted right now.
Do better. Be better. Be a freaking human being with compassion, love and a sense of common good.