Hitting Home by Geoff Carter « The Pen in Hand Blog

Attribution: Paul Goyette from Chicago, USA, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By Geoff Carter

After America somehow reelected a man who fomented a rebellion in an attempt to overturn the government, the last nine months have seemed unreal, like some sort of nightmare—an incessantly recurring nightmare. Terrible things are happening. Innocent American citizens are being kidnapped, swept off the streets by masked agents of the government in a surreal display of authoritarian terror tactics. It doesn’t seem real. Who would have guessed last November that these ICE thugs would be running rampant in American cities? For all that, personally, it still seems distant, far off, somebody else’s problem, like the war in Ukraine or the devastation of Gaza.

It’s closer than we might think.

A few nights ago, our doorbell security camera flashed an alert at about 5:45 in the morning, which usually means it’s picking up an early morning jogger or dog walker, so I rolled over and ignored it. Later, after I had my morning coffee, I paged through the camera notifications and saw what really happened. About two dozen men geared up in packs had walked past my house. They weren’t exactly marching, but they were moving with a purpose. Most had big backpacks, and a few were carrying what appeared to be boxes. A couple of them had objects slung over their shoulders, but the light was dim, and I couldn’t quite make out what they were. A few of them had headlights mounted on headgear, like miners use.

Video by Geoff Carter

Now in times past—nine months ago, which seems like years ago now—I would have said “huh” and shrugged. I would’ve thought that maybe it was a group of guys going on an urban spelunking trip or maybe doing some sort of primal scream male bonding camping trip. I would’ve thought it was unusual, but not sinister.

But the first thought—and I don’t think I was being paranoid—that crossed my mind when I watched that video was that these guys might be ICE agents getting ready for an early morning raid, or new ICE hires going on a training mission. Or could it be a mobilization of the Wisconsin National Guard? What was in those packs? Or in those boxes they were carrying? Were those guns or fishing rods slung over their shoulders?

It’s a sad day when Americans think that armed federal agents or soldiers might be patrolling their streets. We know they’re out there. ICE agents have been documented beating up fathers dropping their kids off at school, raiding dairy farms to arrest workers, and rousting citizens out of their apartment buildings in the middle of the night. They arrested a Milwaukee County judge. We know these are facts, but they seemed abstract, distant. Seeing those guys march past my house, whoever they were, was a wake-up call for me.

ICE agents and whatever secret police force might evolve from that organization—and make no mistake, that will be their next move—might be knocking at our doors (or worse) next. According to The Brennan Center for Justice, besides using his Big Bilious Billionaire Boys’ Club bill to slash taxes for the rich, Donald Trump and his spineless congressional minions have allocated over $75 billion in funding to ICE (above and beyond the department’s regular funding) and $45 billion for new detention centers designated to hold over 100,000 prisoners (not detainees). Prisoners. Most of this funding will be spent at the discretion of ICE.

According to a report from The New York Post, some top ICE recruits will be making over $100,000 dollars and garnering $30,000 in staggered signing bonuses. Many of these top recruits were agents who had previously left the force. New recruits will only be making $50,000 to $90,000 a year. The agency hopes to add 10,000 agents to the fold in order to meet its quota of 3.000 arrests per day.

Ordinarily, under a normal administration, this wouldn’t raise many alarm flags. Sure, the quotas and personnel build-up may seem a little over the top, but these are well-trained and disciplined federal officers, right?

Not really. Not anymore.

ICE agents commonly wear masks during arrests and do not wear badges or present any sort of identification. There do not seem to be a standard uniform. They often refuse to present a warrant before detaining a suspect or inform them why they are being arrested. According to a PBS Report , ICE agents recently surrounded and entered a five- story southside Chicago apartment complex in the middle of the night, broke down doors, dragged residents, many of them citizens or legal residents, out of their beds, zip tied them and made them stand outside (some of them naked) for hours while helicopters flew overhead. Children were separated from parents. Homes were trashed. In what some characterize as an effort to intimidate the populace, representatives of NewsNation were invited to film and document the raid. Head of Homeland Security Kristi Noem subsequently released a heavily edited video of the incident, on social media platform X, highlighting agents rappelling from helicopters, smashing doors, and prisoners in zip-ties.

The ICE raids are becoming increasingly aggressive. The use of chemical agents is now commonly used during raids. One was ignited outside a school. In another incident, Chicago Alderperson Jesse Fuentes was placed in handcuffs after asking agents to present a warrant for a person whose leg had been broken during an ICE raid.

A member of the clergy was hit in the head with a pepper ball during a protest outside a detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. Things has gotten so bad that a federal judge issued a restraining order prohibiting federal agents from using chemical agents and other strongarm tactics against protestors. According to CNN, “The judge’s order, which applies to the entire Northern District of Illinois, blocks federal agents from firing various types of less-lethal projectiles and chemical irritants and from ‘“using force, such as pulling or shoving a person to the ground, tackling, or body slamming an individual.”’ (CNN). It also specifically adds protections to journalists, who seem to have become prime targets in these confrontations.

Some legal immigrants have simply disappeared. Authorities refuse to divulge information about some detainees’ whereabouts and have refused to let government officials inside these facilities to inspect living conditions and treatment of prisoners.

So, to summarize, a band of federal agents who seem to be working without rules, guidelines, and outside the rule of law are attacking American citizens without cause. They do not identify themselves, present warrants, or hesitate to use violence—not reasonable force—violence. This renegade band of thugs, reinforced by the administration, will swell its ranks by 10,000 members and increase its budget by billions. That means more armored cars, more helicopters, and more thugs. This agency is trending increasingly toward lawlessness, irresponsibility, intimidation, and violence.

So, yes, when I see a group of unknown men marching in front of my home in the middle of the night, I get apprehensive. I’d be a fool not to be.