Teachable Moment

“Immigration officers arrested a teacher early Wednesday in Chicago after chasing her into the grounds of a private preschool and grabbing her as parents and students looked on … Several parents said they were waiting to drop off their children around 7 a.m. at Rayito de Sol, a Spanish immersion day care and school, when they saw armed officers in black vests with the words ‘POLICE ICE’ run behind the woman and into the lobby of the building. Witnesses and school employees told The Washington Post that they thought the school was under attack and scrambled into rooms and vehicles outside in search of safety.” Is this going after the worst of the worst of the dangerous criminals who have supposedly invaded our country? Is this what we had in mind when we were told we’re going after all the bad hombres? Does this really make anyone feel safer? WaPo (Gift Article): Armed ICE officers chase teacher into preschool in Chicago.

+ If you don’t care about the bad optics or the bad ethics, what about the bad economics? “As ICE agents fan out to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, their enforcement actions are creating unease among both undocumented and documented workers on building sites across the U.S., deepening the already severe labor shortage, slowing the pace of construction and driving up costs, industry officials and contractors say.” ICE is sending a chill through the construction industry.

+ “A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday issued a sweeping injunction that puts more permanent restrictions on the use of force by immigration agents during ‘Operation Midway Blitz,’ saying top government officials lied in their testimony about threats that protesters posed and that their unlawful behavior on the streets ‘shows no signs of stopping.'” Chicago Tribune: The use of force shocks the conscience. (On the plus side, this implies there’s still a conscience.)