Detained Marine Dad, Deported Kids, This is Why Mass Deportation is Increasingly Unpopular in America

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Washington, DC — As America’s Voice highlights in our most recent polling memo, Americans are increasingly rejecting the Trump/Miller mass deportation crusade. Every day, we are seeing fresh reminders why the public is recoiling against the cruelty and chaos on display. See below for examples of the targeting and deportation of children, including U.S. citizens; the powerful words of a recently detained father of three Marines; and a reminder of the larger stakes for all Americans in what we’re witnessing.

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“Beating and detaining a Marine dad. Deporting teenagers and children. U.S. citizens being told by immigration enforcement that they have no rights. This is the face of mass deportation – the unfettered abuse of power that American voters continue to reject. With the recent infusion of $170 billion to carry out the Trump/Miller purge plan, these horror stories will become commonplace, and the administration will continue to expand its target list to anyone it deems unsuitable. Every American must ask themselves – who is next? “

See below for key stories highlighting the larger implications of Trump’s mass deportation agenda has on vulnerable individuals:

• USA Today, “ICE deported teenagers and children in immigration raids. Here are their stories.”, noting: “Martir is one of at least five children and teens who have been rounded up by ICE and deported from the United States with their parents since the start of Trump’s second presidential term. Many won’t return to their schools in the fall.”

• ABC News, “Father of 3 Marines who was forcibly detained by immigration agents at landscaping job speaks out”, noting: “During a press conference in Santa Ana surrounded by local officials and leaders, [Narciso] Barranco thanked the community and his family for their support. “I love you all and I am very proud of you,” he said to his children in Spanish. To his wife, Marta, he said, “Thank you for your strength, love, and for never stopping believing in me. Barranco also spoke to the families of other detainees he met while in custody. “I want to tell their families they have faith; they miss you all, and even in that place, they have hope,” he said. Barranco asked of federal authorities, “Please, don’t take away the opportunities for them to reunite with their families.””
• The Guardian, “Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You’ve got no rights.’ He secretly recorded his brutal arrest”, noting: “On the morning of 2 May, teenager Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job in North Palm Beach with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. A highway patrol officer asked everyone in the van to identify themselves, then called for backup. Officers with US border patrol arrived on the scene. Video footage of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men*, two of whom are undocumented. They appear to use a stun gun on one man, put another in a chokehold and can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: “You’ve got no rights here. You’re a migo, brother.” Afterward, agents can be heard bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use “funny” and quipping: “You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.”
• New York Times op-ed by Vanita Gupta, former Associate U.S. Attorney General: “You May Not Be Trump’s Target This Time. But You Could Be Next”, noting: “With civil society itself under attack, the very foundations of our country — our ability to hold the government accountable, to be free to dissent and debate, to support vulnerable communities — are also threatened. This matters because, as with all moves out of the authoritarian playbook, even if you’re not the target this time, you could be next … Anti-democratic regimes around the world target the rule of law and attack nonprofits so that their work of holding the government legally accountable and supporting vulnerable and disfavored communities ceases … Today it’s a Republican president; tomorrow it could be a Democratic president engaging in a tit for tat. Our country does not need that race to the bottom. It is incumbent on all of us to fight for American freedom in this moment.”