Trump’s dystopian use of ICE must be stopped

After Trump took office the first time, in 2017, I read the book "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis, a scary dystopian novel written in 1935. It portrayed the rise of a populist who campaigned for "traditional" American values and for the "forgotten man” who defeated President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1936.

Among the measures he took on the way to fascism was to create a paramilitary force he called the Minute Men, whose loyalty was to him and not our country. I don't want to overstate any comparisons between President Trump and this fictional character, but the creation of this personal, private army by "President Windrip" always stuck with me, especially now with the massive expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Billions of dollars were added to the ICE budget in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, the Department of Homeland Security said it increased the number of ICE agents and officers by 120 percent, from 10,000 to 22,000, and training was reduced from six months to 47 days.

Why is this important? Trump, in my opinion, turned ICE into a paramilitary force, his own private militia. They are creating fear and sowing chaos, not just in Minneapolis, but here and in communities around the country, making these communities less safe. They are clearly unqualified and not well-trained. Attacking innocent children and families instead of criminals is not what most Americans want. No one, citizen or not, should be threatened by ICE in this way. ICE simply has no place in New York City. Trump's ICE should not exist, period.

We all saw the horrors that took place in Minneapolis. Innocent people being rounded up. Children detained. Violence. The execution by ICE officers of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Federal officials, including Stephen Miller — who I believe is a Fascist — and Kristi Noem, among the worst of Trump's horrible cabinet members, behaved in the most reprehensible ways. Both of them, the ICE agents who killed Good and Pretti, and other ICE agents who broke the law should all be held accountable.

What should we do about this? It's not good enough to spout meaningless and empty slogans. We need action. I’ve marched. I’ve attended No Kings Rallies. I have spoken out at protests against ICE and the Trump administration. I've supported Dylan Contreras, who formerly attended the ELLIS School on the Kennedy campus until he was scooped up by ICE. My office has and is partnering with other elected officials to host "Know Your Rights" events. And we have distributed bilingual "Know Your Rights" palm cards to people in my district.

I won't stop until we confront this threat to our values and safety. I support the governor’s push to limit ICE’s ability to carry out civil warrants in schools and houses of worship, and I am fighting to pass the New York for All Act, which would make sure we’re not complicit in what ICE is doing. It would prohibit all local law enforcement and state agencies from working with ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. I co-sponsor legislation to prohibit New York National Guard units being deployed under the command of another state’s governor for military purposes – unless our governor has given permission. I co-sponsor the Access to Representation Act, which would create the right to counsel for all immigrants facing deportation, as well as the Dignity not Detention Act to terminate contracts between ICE and local jails and prohibit the use of state resources to incarcerate immigrants on behalf of ICE.

Action, not just words.

We must be vigilant regarding ICE’s possible presence in our community, but we mustn’t fearmonger and spread misinformation that is both political and sows fear with our neighbors. My office remains proactive in protecting our community, especially including immigrant families. 

There is no doubt that our country is in crisis. Trump's use of ICE is a major part of that. All concerned Americans — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — should join together and take a strong stand against Trump's use of ICE for his own political gain and self-aggrandizement.

Jeffrey Dinowitz is the state assemblymember for the 81st District.