Lexi, this is excellent commentary and I am grateful for it. I have thought for some time there have to be agents within ICE who recognize the pain they are inflicting and the fear they are producing.
I had been in Vietnam only a couple of months into a 13 month tour when the Marines around me and I recognized the damage we were inflicting on people who just wanted to live their lives in peace with some level of tranquility. I saw that we weren’t saving the world from communism as I had believed when I enlisted. I knew what we were doing was antithetical to American values. Knowing I couldn’t just pack up my seabag and go home, I began to treat my tour differently. It became my job to protect the Marines to my left and right from harm.
I want to believe there is a vast number of ICE agents who know what they’re doing is wrong, morally and legally; they know what they’re doing is political theater. I believe there will come a time when those agents put down their weapons, surrender their badges and join the fight against this tyranny. Please, may it come soon!
Emil, your words moved me deeply. Thank you for sharing your story—and for connecting your experience in Vietnam to the moral crossroads so many ICE agents face today. Like you, I believe there are people inside who know what they’re doing is wrong. And I share your hope that more of them will find the courage to walk away and stand on the side of justice. Your voice adds so much strength to that call. Grateful for you.
“We had a lead on a trafficking ring bringing underage girls across state lines. We were told to pause it because we needed to hit arrest numbers for the quarter.”
Roald, thank you for this powerful and heartfelt comment. You’re absolutely right—when federal agents turn law enforcement into political theater, it damages community trust and demoralizes the very officers who signed up to protect, not perform. Your point about the emotional toll on cops is so important, too. Public safety should be built on trust, not fear—and your words are a reminder of what that can look like.
Lexi, this is excellent commentary and I am grateful for it. I have thought for some time there have to be agents within ICE who recognize the pain they are inflicting and the fear they are producing.
I had been in Vietnam only a couple of months into a 13 month tour when the Marines around me and I recognized the damage we were inflicting on people who just wanted to live their lives in peace with some level of tranquility. I saw that we weren’t saving the world from communism as I had believed when I enlisted. I knew what we were doing was antithetical to American values. Knowing I couldn’t just pack up my seabag and go home, I began to treat my tour differently. It became my job to protect the Marines to my left and right from harm.
I want to believe there is a vast number of ICE agents who know what they’re doing is wrong, morally and legally; they know what they’re doing is political theater. I believe there will come a time when those agents put down their weapons, surrender their badges and join the fight against this tyranny. Please, may it come soon!
Emil, your words moved me deeply. Thank you for sharing your story—and for connecting your experience in Vietnam to the moral crossroads so many ICE agents face today. Like you, I believe there are people inside who know what they’re doing is wrong. And I share your hope that more of them will find the courage to walk away and stand on the side of justice. Your voice adds so much strength to that call. Grateful for you.
Skimmed after this:
“We had a lead on a trafficking ring bringing underage girls across state lines. We were told to pause it because we needed to hit arrest numbers for the quarter.”
Nausia is an understatement.
Roald, thank you for this powerful and heartfelt comment. You’re absolutely right—when federal agents turn law enforcement into political theater, it damages community trust and demoralizes the very officers who signed up to protect, not perform. Your point about the emotional toll on cops is so important, too. Public safety should be built on trust, not fear—and your words are a reminder of what that can look like.