Oooo, now this is something unexpected, especially after my previous column. Once again, my favorite independent news site has come through for me with a jump-off point for another piece. This was a *complete* surprise. And, to be snarky, quite a welcome one. It seems the people in ICE with the brains and training are really unhappy now, and they seem to be pushing back. Thank you to, of course, Raw Story:
Immigration agents are privately expressing hesitation about their deployments as they face growing backlash from lawmakers and civilians alike, according to a new report. A Department of Homeland Security memo that was leaked to independent journalist Ken Klippenstein appears to show the agency calling on agents to volunteer for the surge in Minneapolis. However, agents who spoke with Klippenstein said some are hesitant because of the dangers it entails.
Gee, ya THINK??!!! (Haven’t used that in a while, perfect excuse.) An ICE member shot a woman in the face and killed her FOR NO REASON, no matter what the spin says, and how Krispi Gnome, er, Kristi Noem, lies. Dangers are an understatement. Well, maybe. Everyone is reminding protestors to be peaceful. That means not throwing a Subway sandwich at them (which would have been a waste of a decent sandwich). But it’s still not a good idea to be ICE in Minneapolis. Actually, it’s not a good idea to be ICE *anywhere*. Numbers haven’t been released yet for the protests, but we can bet they were big.
The memo tells agents to keep a low profile, hide any insignia that could tie them to Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to be mindful of what they post on social media. “A Border Patrol agent familiar with the discussions said the volunteer push reflects real unease in the ranks about the Good shooting in Minneapolis and the related surge,” Klippenstein reported.
He spoke with one agent who said DHS already has the manpower for its surge, but “some just don’t want to go.” “There might be some immature knuckleheads who think they are out there trying to capture Nicolas Maduro, but most field officers see a clear need for de-escalation,” a high-level career official at Homeland Security headquarters told Klippenstein.
We now can say it together: Gee, ya THINK??!!! Sending more agents in is going to make it worse, not better. Sending in more fat, undertrained, and stupid agents is going to make it exponentially worse because they have no guardrails at this point. Those yahoos will be feeling their oats and thinking they can do whatever they want. That’s going to mean another shooting and a possible death. Then it’s *really* going to get ugly. We can’t be certain someone won’t lose their cool at a protest. Our country is a powder keg, and the fuse is getting mighty short. We do NOT want martial law!
“There is genuine fear that indeed ICE’s heavy-handedness and the rhetoric from Washington is more creating a condition where the officers’ lives are in danger rather than the other way around.” The hesitation comes at a time when tensions are running high in Minneapolis following the killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was protesting an ICE raid. Good was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while she was trying to leave the scene.
Good’s killing sparked protests nationwide. Law enforcement experts have pointed out that Ross appears to have violated several ICE policies during the shooting. Trump administration officials have defended Ross’s actions and said he enjoys “absolute immunity.”
That noise you hear is steam shooting out of my ears in preparation for the top of my head blowing off. No, Trump, you SOB, they do NOT have absolute immunity! That’s only for your sorry ass! Good grief! Someone was just *killed* over *nothing*. That’s murder. And they are hiding the shooter away so he doesn’t have to face the music because there were multiple witnesses and multiple recordings, including the one from his own phone. The question he should be asking himself is, was it worth it? We all know what our answer would be, but we wouldn’t be stupid and hair-trigger like he was. And agents think it’s too dangerous to come into Minneapolis. I wonder why.
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