More and more citizens and organizations are preparing for and responding to ICE raids with all the resources they can muster. They are not waiting for elected officials to take action. They are not waiting for courts to swiftly reaffirm their constitutional rights to due process.
Still and all, our City Council, county supervisors and congressional representatives must act with greater urgency. Our police ought to be standing between masked, badge-less, warrantless, violent, unidentifiable actors and those they are terrorizing.
An open question to Mayor Fred Jung, Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Shana Charles, council members Nicholas Dunlap, Jamie Valencia, Ahmad Zahra and Police Chief Jon Radus: What are you doing to protect the people?
Brady
Fullerton resident
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Categories: Community Voices, Local Government
I agree completely with this letter. Thank you Mr Rhoades for putting these questions to our city officials – especially in light of several incidents that have occurred in Fullerton including the US citizen with clear ID who was abducted recently by six ICE agents and only released after confronted by the ACLU.
Police exist to uphold the law, not decide if laws are naughty or nice. Most of the public agrees with what is happening with the exception of the very vocal, very minor minority
“Most of the public agrees with what is happening with the exception of the very vocal, very minor minority”
Link?
Can’t say it better than Sharon. Fullerton police officers’ criteria isn’t: Are laws “naughty or nice.” It is: Are laws being broken? If they are — and they are, demonstrably, by goons following the orders of a convicted felon — then police are duty-bound to step in.
“by goons following the orders of a convicted felon”. Hyperbole and TDS at its most extreme.
IF laws are being broken, that will be determined in a court of law. As of yet, this has not happened. What you are feeling and what is actual law are two different things
You’re deeply confused. Trump is certainly a “convicted felon.” That has been adjudicated by a jury of his peers… 34 felonies related to falsifying records. You ignored this and voted for a felon because you don’t care about the rule of law at all. Illegal aliens are simply a scapegoat for many societal ills and you are using the power of the state to target them.
It’s not “TDS” or “hyperbole” to point out your “extreme” hypocrisy.
Trump is using ICE as an unprecedented, massive, masked domestic police force rendering people off the streets without charge and total disregard for civil rights and due process.
Lotusjoints – You are being fooled. Please stop watching Fox and look for broader news sources. Most people do not agree with what is happening. This administration and its ICE are Not targeting criminals – they are targeting hardworking people – families – students. And they are doing that in an unlawful manor by kidnapping people off the street, at bus stops, at their work places, at their immigration hearings at court, and even approaching schools and churches. These masked agents show no ID – produce no warrants, and refuse to even tell family where their family members have been taken. This is all against the law.
Sharon, I’m sure it is easier to distill me down to a conservative nut job so you can understand me. The fact is that people in this country illegally are breaking the law. It is black and white. It does not matter if they are nice people. ICE is not doing anything illegal. Quite the opposite, they are upholding the law. If you do not like the law then fight to change it but don’t complain people are being mean as your justification to stop ICE. We are a country of laws, not feelings.
Being in the country is not a crime. Having crossed the border illegally first time is a misdemeanor. Second time is a felony.
It is not black and white. Those are two different things. And people can also be here illegally by overstaying a visa. That’s not any kind of crime.
And crossing illegally or overstaying a visa is an event. It is not an ongoing crime. And you can have come here through whatever way and be awaiting a hearing for asylum status. That’s still status.
And this administration is going after people who came completely legally who have status like students under for engaging in political speech which is entirely lawful but just in contradiction of this lawless regime.
There is nothing black and white about this situation.
Further this administration claimed to be going after criminals. And they didn’t mean illegal border crossers. They meant gang members and drug dealers and human traffickers. No one was confused what they meant during the campaign. But no one on the left bought their lies. They always meant to go after legal aliens as well.
John,
Your statement is misleading at best but more likely wrong. See below:
INA § 212(a)(6)(A)(i): Declares an individual inadmissible if they are present in the U.S. without being admitted or paroled, or if they arrived at a place other than a designated port of entry. This establishes unlawful presence as a ground for inadmissibility.
INA § 237(a)(1)(B): States that an individual present in the U.S. in violation of the INA or other immigration laws (e.g., overstaying a visa) is deportable.
INA § 212(a)(9)(B): Outlines penalties for unlawful presence, including bars to reentry (3-year bar for 180 days to less than 1 year of unlawful presence, and 10-year bar for 1 year or more of unlawful presence, after departing the U.S.)
Deportation is what is happening now to people here unlawfully.
My statement was exactly correct which is probably why you’re unable to articulate a counterargument but just quoting U.S. code without demonstrating any contradiction on my part and making “misleading” statements of your own.
Deportation is absolutely happening. You can call aliens here “unlawfully” if they have no status and are pursuing no claim but if they’re pursuing an asylum claim that has not been heard yet, they are here lawfully. If they overstayed a visa, they never committed any “crime” but they are deportable. If they crossed illegally first time it is a misdemeanor not a felony so not even a “crime” to compare with the convicted felon Trump who is the head of the MAGA criminal organization. And as president he is leading an administration that is breaking laws at record speed with total disregard to basic rights and American values. And we have a SCOTUS enabling him to break laws now and just sort it out later.
Further you totally ignored the fact that the deportations are happening for people who are here with status, entirely lawfully as students. They are being deported for sharing political opinions publicly.
John,
I think you are hung up on the word “crime” while I am hung up on the words “deportable offense”. Being here illegally is a deportable offense (as is overstaying a visa) as outlined by the code above. Deporting deportable people = upholding the law. I really could care less what Trump said he would do. In any case, it is not up to local police to stop the feds from deporting deportable people. You may have the last word.
Well once you’re onto them simply being “deportable”… like foreign students Trump has faux political disagreements with or people with status pursuing an asylum claim… then they are not criminals and the administration is exercising its discretion into seeking to mass deport non criminals. It’s not about being tough on crime. It’s about victimizing people just trying to get by.
The border has to be enforced because the system cannot take the strain of an open border. But we haven’t had an open border under any president. It’s by definition a controlled border with massive amounts of resources going to police our borders and ports.
People will get in. If it ever gets to be a serious strain then tough measures become necessary. But we aren’t there. There is no immigrant crime wave. These people aren’t degrading our country or quality of life any more than the jews and other scapegoats in Nazi Germany were. We are simply picking on an outgroup with the excuse that the law might allow us to do it.
Pretty much all you folks are not thinking critically. I agree with Lotusjoints. These people are here illegally. We have a formal immigration process. My parents followed that process when they immigrated here. Illegal immigration is a crime and it circumvents the intended immigration process. They need to go back to their home countries and use the legal process.
Also folks, remember, when you increase the population by allowing millions of illegal immigrants into the country you cause a lot of bad things to happen. For example, do you like paying much higher rent? Do you like how fast home prices increased? Do you like that your kids can’t afford the cost of a home here in Fullerton? The reason for this is scarcity. When you allow millions of people to come in and compete for limited housing, you force an increase in prices and that is REAL and happening now. So now its much harder to afford to live in Orange County because you allowed this to happen. Just one example of the negative impact of illegal immigration.
Send them back and soon home prices will level out.
No, we are thinking critically, we just disagree with you.
“These people are here illegally. ” some are, some aren’t.
“Illegal immigration is a crime”
Crossing the border unlawfully is a misdemeanor. Second time is a felony. So that’s only partially true and ignores the fact of visa overstays. You can be “deportable” but not a “criminal.” And what about students being kidnapped and deported at the stroke of Rubio’s pen for political opinions? Inconvenient, and disgusting facts.
“For example, do you like paying much higher rent?”
That’s a theory You provide no data or analysis as proof. I can list many other reasons housing costs are high. The same thing that is happening to California’s market is starting to show up in red states too. It has far more to do with zoning laws impacting supply than “illegal immigrants” outbidding citizens. I mean, come on, that doesn’t pass the smell test.
Critical thinking is good but you aren’t doing it.
JoeCitizen – wow – wouldn’t that be nice – if all problems with housing, jobs , etc would disappear after the administration deports all immigrants. You need better information. Try reading actual studies on how immigrants are beneficial to society.
Your ideas of why housing prices are high are in error. These are complicated issues but not the fault of immigrants documented or undocumented.
Stop your addiction to FOX and broaden your news gathering. For a start try ground.news – it gathers news from all sources. And try snopes.com to help you debunk false news stories. They get to the source of where claims come from.
I saw at least 3 people, possibly more, stand at the podium and ask the Mayor and council and police chief what they are doing to protect the citizens of Fullerton irregardless of their legal status. What I found interesting is that the Mayor was silent while the Mayor-Pro-Tem was willing to speak on the issue.
If “Natural Born Americans” are being swept up in ice raids, what about everyone else?
iceblock is a good app to have. So is the Ring app for it’s neighborhood alerts. Other sites are helpful too like stopice.net and immdefense.org
Stay safe out there and stay away from icy roads.
And in Orange County call the OC Rapid Response hotline at (714) 881-1558 to report ICE . They work with ACLU and other groups that can help