The viral clip of a white woman screaming that ICE is “detaining black people” and that some sinister “regime” is out to “get rid of all people of color” is the kind of performative panic that poisons real debate. Facts matter: ICE is not in the business of deporting American citizens by color — it enforces immigration law against noncitizens who lack lawful status.
Let’s be blunt: enforcement of immigration law is about legal status, not skin tone. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations exist to identify noncitizens who are subject to removal and to carry out lawful orders from immigration courts; the agency’s policies and press releases make that explicit.
That said, the government bureaucracy is far from perfect and mistakes have happened — and conservatives should never pretend otherwise. Investigations have documented cases where ICE wrongfully detained U.S. citizens because of bad data or sloppy procedures, a problem that breeds legitimate outrage and demands reform.
Recent high-profile incidents have fueled emotion: there were cases where U.S. citizen children were removed to Honduras with deported parents and a federal judge raised serious questions about whether proper procedures were followed. Those are troubling exceptions that require answers, not broad-brush claims that all people of a particular race are being targeted for deportation.
The left’s reaction to every enforcement action too often leans on spectacle and race-baiting instead of facts and solutions. The consequence is predictable: media-driven hysteria invites political opportunists and “white savior” provocation, and simultaneously undermines the rule of law that protects citizens and immigrants alike.
Conservatives who value law and order should say this plainly — enforce the rules, secure the border, and remove people without legal status, but fix the agency failures that lead to wrongful detentions. Demand accountability, better databases, and faster reviews so Americans never have to fear misuse of power while the nation retains the ability to control its borders.
Our country doesn’t need virtue-signaling grandstanders making false claims to score cheap political points; it needs competent government that upholds citizenship, protects the innocent, and enforces immigration law fairly. Patriotic Americans of every background should reject the theatrics, insist on due process for everyone, and support commonsense reforms that honor both the rule of law and the dignity of those who belong here.
