This phrase I recently saw in social media stays with me: “Somewhere in the U.S., there’s a little girl (or a little boy) hiding and trembling in fear, writing about what is happening outside.”
That child could be right here in Central Florida. Likely not in an attic, but in a room with blacked-out windows, a closet or a storage shed. Our beautiful, diverse community, one that has thrived for generations on the labor, culture and spirit of immigrants, feels under siege. ICE is here.
ICE is increasingly operating as rogue entity, demonstrating a systemic disregard for legal constraints and fundamental human rights. The recent revelation of an internal memo authorizing warrantless, forcible entry into homes in direct contradiction of the 4th Amendment is a stark example of it. This culture of impunity culminates in public violence as horrifically shown by the killing in Minnesota of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse. While top government officials publicly branded Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and “assassin” multiple videos tell a different story. Pretti, a licensed gun owner who was carrying, never drew his weapon. He was filming an altercation between agents and civilians with his phone, was pepper-sprayed and tackled, his legal gun taken away, and then shot at 10 times.
The abyss between the official narrative and what is in the videos reveals an agency willing to use lethal force against those who disagree with it and to systematically lie to cover it up. “Don’t believe your eyes,” we are told time and again. The message is clear: truth be damned. Our local elected officials must recognize ICE for the lawless entity it has become and refuse all complicity.
What we are witnessing cannot be called immigration enforcement. The word “enforcement” implies an action bound by law, guided by due process and anchored in constitutional safeguards. We are seeing masked men pointing their weapons at civilians, regardless of their immigration status or whether they have committed a crime. We see people, young, old and even disabled, dragged from their cars as they plead that they are American citizens. We see homes forcefully entered and half-naked, stunned residents brought into the street. We see mothers slammed to the ground as their children cry in despair. This is not enforcement. This is the operation of a brutal machinery designed to inflict terror.
How we respond to ICE will define who we are as a people, as a community and as a nation for generations to come. Our leaders have tools at their disposal and they must use them. They could challenge in court the legality of a forced-upon “voluntary” Intergovernmental Support Agreement (IGSA) that has turned our county jail into an overcrowded ICE detention center, subsidized by Orange County taxpayers. They could enforce zoning and building codes to preclude the use of facilities like warehouses for human detention, citing the danger these structures designed for holding goods would pose when used for human dwelling. They could direct our local police to protect peaceful protesters and legal observers from violence, false arrests and potential death, ensuring our streets remain a space for civil discourse.
What we have seen so far is that when local jurisdictions push back through the courts and through policy, they can win. A federal judge just reined in ICE’s warrantless arrests in Chicago, citing a “troubling trend” of overreach. The Supreme Court recently upheld a block on using National Guard troops for federal immigration enforcement. A major settlement in Los Angeles will soon force ICE agents to wear clear insignia, ending their deceptive practice of impersonating local police. And in Massachusetts, the federal government abandoned its attempt to punish sanctuary policies by withholding critical federal funds. These victories were extricated by the courageous standing of local governments and their allies because of their refusal to be submissive.
Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet. (Courtesy photo)
We can win this battle one ordinance, one legal challenge at a time, but the battles must be fought. Among our leaders, courageous few have stood with us, but we need them all to be in the right side of history. They must choose whether to submit to terror or to stand up for the people they represent. Their principled leadership could be the line between despair and defense, between terror and our community’s soul. Silence effectively amounts to complicity. Every concession to this rogue machinery is a shameful stain in their legacy.
Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet is the executive director of the Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka and a candidate for District 42 in the Florida House.
