I grew up in a country that welcomed people from less fortunate areas. We learned from each other and grew to be better human beings. Not everybody did that - some stayed in their own small towns, never seeing the rest of the state - never learning about the rest of the country - never leaving the borders of our nation to see and feel the world. They remained "hicks" and we used to laugh at them.
Now this nation is being led by somebody who would have us fear and resent anybody who is not white, American and rich.
How poverty stricken would we be as a people, a country if we allow this to happen. How pleased would our enemy be to have conquered the American Spirit without firing a shot. Tell Russia they can't have their dream. Tell #45 that his views are not ours.

Today a suspicious car, a silver Ford Flex with no license plates was parked in front of a friend’s house in Meiners Oaks. She confronted the two in the car who said they were police but would not show ID.They raced off and she followed them, calling me along the way.
The car pulled onto a side street off of Rice Road. I pulled in front and approached them in my clergy collar. I asked if they were police. They said they were. I asked for ID and they refused. So I planned on making a citizen’s arrest for impersonating. I called 911 and a parishioner and a member of Ojai Indivisible showed up while I was describing the situation to the dispatcher, who asked if they were armed. I saw a belt, but went back to see that the driver at least had a Glock strapped to his leg. The driver threateningly told me to back away. I backed off and waited for the police. The car backed out and tore off into Downtown Ojai. My friend continued to follow until she saw them heading out of the Ojai Valley down the 33. In the meantime, 911 came back on the line and said it was ICE. white evening dresses
If these folks had identified themselves as ICE and shown some proof they were law enforcement and not yahoos, I would have asked for a warrant signed by a judge.
You see how they are dressed. They could’ve been looters or the ridiculous vigilantes after the fire getting in the way of police.
Since they are ICE, what are they doing in neighborhoods during school pick up time rather than going after bad hombres? I haven’t seen MS -13 in MO. 15 minutes later I picked up both of my kids from school. Do parents have to worry about armed patrols breaking speeding laws, being threatening, and not identifying themselves as federal agents while their kids are going to and from school?
It makes me sick to think, but I suspect they were trolling for law abiding folks, unaware and easy pickings, who are working and have kids in school, contributing to America and trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. What type of law enforcement cruises neighborhoods unmarked, strapped like paramilitary, with no identifying clothing, and, when specifically asked for ID, refuses? I’m a priest and I’ve done sanctuary training — how terrifying must this be for folks whose English and knowledge of the law is not as good?
Is this even constitutional? This sounds like police state stuff to me.
I always wondered what it was like when the FBI came for my family and other loyal Japanese Americans and locked them up behind barbed wire without due process, solely based on how they looked. Where were neighbors asking questions and demanding their rights be respected back then for what is today recognized as a terrible mistake? And yes, even undocumented people have constitutional rights — it is one of the things that makes the US exceptional.
Whatever you think about politics, it is time to ask hard questions about how these policies affect families and the the type of America we want to be.