It’s well known that ICE’s orders are to ensure everyone knows Trump wants the public to know, to KNOW cruelty is the point of their immigration “policy” enforcement. Attentoin last week has been focused on Minneapolis. ICE agents in Maryland were I’m sure oh so proud of cruelty they inflicted on a mom and her dying son (not to mention surviving family) by arresting her and refusing to allow a visit to her son’s deathbed.
I can only imagine the high fives and clinking of beer bottles as they partied, figuring that given their proximity to DC their cruelty would blow up into national news. Maybe even an invitation to DHS for an in person attaboy photo op with ICE Barbie Kristi Noem herself. As we learn from The Independent:
A Maryland mother of four was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers just days before her teenage son died of cancer, according to her family.
The family of Arlit Maria Martinez claims she was denied the chance to say goodbye to her 15-year-old son, Kevin, and be at his bedside when he died after she was detained by ICE agents on January 3.
Don’t tell me for one second ICE agents around the country don’t try to outdo each other to make the news with a new outrage. Like I said these assholes likely assumed the news would pick up on what they had done and they’d get their proverbial fifteen minutes. It should be noted that there doesn’t seem to be any reason for ICE to have arrested this woman in the first place. The mother of four had no criminal history, and was simply headed into work in Salisbury Maryland when ICE detained her and locked her up:
She has no criminal record, no prior deportation, and has always worked hard to support us,” Ervin Martinez wrote on the fundraising page for his mom and late brother. “My dad has been unable to work because he is the primary caregiver for my brother Kevin, who has been battling cancer.”
Her dying son took a turn for the worse and passed away, without his mom at his bedside 2 days later. Hell yes there was back slapping, hand shakes and plenty of brewskit downed in celebration at that ICE office. Then up in Minnesota they went and one-upped them. Jonathan Ross shot and killed a mom of three! You’ll never convince me at least some of those who inflicted all the cruelty in Maryland haven’t thought – why didn’t WE shoot that woman dead. I say that because on the way to detention she probably begged to be release because he son was battling cancer and near death.
Well, it’s an ugly story and I could go into a full-on rant but my point is that ICE cruelty has been nationwide and isn’t going to stop until the outcry grows so large GOPers are forced to rein Trump and his thugs in. Firing ICE Barbie who has played such a huge role in Trump’s tanked approval ratings would be a good start. He was already underwater on immigration which had been his signature issue. Hell, it propelled him to a second term. Thanks to ICE Barbie he’ll be even more underwater in the next poll that measures this issue!
For the life of me I can’t understand why Trump has kept her on. He’s got no interest in boinking her. Too old for one thing. Plus Cory Lewindowski has been doing so. If Trump didn’t want Hope Hicks who was much younger and had bigger and I think natural boobs because Lewindowski had had her first Noem’s dream of replacing “Melanie” are truly pathetic. What really matters to Trump is his approval rating and Noem has tanked him on the issue he not only cares about most (grifting isn’t an issue for Trump – just who he always has been) but has been even more important than his empty (MAGA now knows) promise to release the Epstein files.
Noem is more easily replaced than Bondi and let’s face it – when Trump finally decides he’s got to fire top people Hegseth who is a GUY will be down the list. It’s looking more and more like Noem will be first. For rank and file ICE agents it won’t matter much. For now. But if as expected Democrats regain control of Congress it WILL start to matter. Worse, if Democrats sweep the trifecta of the Presidency, House and Senate in 2028 thousands of them will be in deep sh*t. In many a civil case and even in the too few criminal cases that will happen the theme of “The cruelty was the point” will start getting made in opening arguments.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
