In an new video, Lynn Tramonte of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA) explains how ICE’s tactics for making arrests mimic the behavior of criminals, and the agency has a history of employing violent and sexual offenders. The two facts are intrinsically linked. She says:
Women are taught [that] if somebody's coming at your car, you drive away. If somebody's trying to pull you over and they've got lights in their car on the inside, don't stop. If people are coming at you with masks … did you guys watch that video of Rumeysa Ozturk getting kidnapped off the streets? I mean, that's our nightmare. When we walk outside, we've got our elbows out and our keys in our hands. We are taught to protect ourselves, and ICE is using the tactics of criminals to arrest people. There are 31 [now 32] ICE and Border Patrol agents with violent sexual offenses, mostly against children. One of them was the East Valley Serial Rapist for 20 years. He worked for the Border Patrol, so that's where they're getting their ideas from. So I mean, I'm with you. If I was Renee [Good], I would've done the same thing. I would've driven away.
The OIA video comes on the heels of a deadly car crash caused by Georgia ICE agents, who aggressively pursued a driver in a high-speed chase through the Chatham County streets. Dr. Linda Davis, a beloved special education teacher Herman W. Hesse K-8 School, was killed because of ICE’s reckless behavior. Law enforcement in Chatham County explicitly prohibit such chases, unless a suspect is believed to have committed, or is attempting to commit, a violent felony. That is because of these types of chases are clearly dangerous. Yet ICE agents involved in the car chase were attempting to arrest Oscar Vasquez Lopez for a civil violation of immigration law. He has no criminal history.
“Once again, ICE agents acted like they are above the law, and killed a beloved community member,” said Tramonte, OIA’s Executive Director. “May Dr. Linda Davis rest in peace, and may our leaders finally take this tragedy as a wake-up call. When we say that ICE brings danger and violence to our community, this is what we mean. There’s a way to enforce immigration laws without killing people on U.S. streets. ICE is out of control and Congress should stop funding it, before more people die.”
The car chases by ICE are happening all over the country, causing multiple injuries and deaths. Federal agents caused a multi-car crash in St. Paul earlier this month, injuring people. In Virginia, Josué Castro Rivera was struck by a vehicle and died after being pursued by ICE. In Columbus, Ohio, ICE caused a car crash while pursuing a random person they believed to be undocumented. Miraculously, no pedestrians were hurt.
Last month in Minneapolis, ICE agents rammed into the car of a man they were following on public streets. Christian Molina was driving to work when agents crashed into his vehicle to stop his car. They let him go once they realized he is a U.S. citizen. They did it “because I look Latino,” he said. “I don’t look white or got blue eyes. They saw this mustache and this hat.”
OIA has also been tracking the number of ICE and Border Patrol agents accused of violent and sexual crimes against women and children. Standing at 32 now, the figure continues to climb.
Said Tramonte, “Every day women exist in public is a day we are on guard for predators. This list of ICE and Border Patrol agents who committed crimes against women and children is just the tip of the iceberg. It is simply the people who have been caught, and their actions appropriately charged as crimes, rather than sanctioned by their federal bosses. Many of these men were employed by ICE and the Border Patrol for decades, abusing people sexually and violently the entire time. Fully two-thirds of these criminal agents committed sexual crimes against children.
“There is a dangerous culture within these agencies, and that is evidenced by this horrifying list. Congress must stop giving ICE and the Border Patrol a blank check to commit crimes against the public. The public cannot trust law enforcement agencies that employ so many dangerous criminals, refuse to police their own ranks, and use the tactics of criminals to pursue people who may have violated a civil law. We don’t send IRS agents out into our communities with masks and guns in unmarked cars — for a reason. We shouldn’t do that to enforce civil immigration law, either. These laws should be enforced in court rooms and office buildings, not the streets of our communities. ICE’s body count continues to grow, and our leaders must stop funding this dangerous agency.”
