YOUR OPINION: Deporting worst of the worst | Jefferson City News Tribune

Bill Gerling,

Jefferson City

Dear Editor,

Trump was elected promising to deport millions of criminal immigrants which he accused of invading the country. He had declared war on immigrants during his first administration. He called immigrants criminals, rapists and poisoning the blood of our country.

In a study by the CATO institute immigrants have been found to commit fewer crimes than native-born citizens. Undocumented immigrants have a crime rate about half of native-born Americans. Legal immigrants have a lower rate of just 26 percent of native-born Americans. Only 2 percent of immigrants arrested by ICE this past year had homicide or sexual assault charges or convictions. Less than 2 percent belonged to any criminal gangs. The main motivation for treating immigrants like animals is mostly racist. Trump doesn't want white people replaced by people of color. He wants only white people from Europe or South Africa as immigrants.

Trump promised to launch the largest deportation policy by canceling the Temporary Protected Status of millions of immigrants and terminating work permits for 530,000. Congress has enabled him by passing huge budgets for Immigration and Immigration Customs Enforcement and Customs Border Patrol. These two agencies have been sent to larger cities throughout the US with a quota of rounding up 3000 immigrants a day. They have been given immunity by presidential assistant Stephen Miller. "To all ICE officers, you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties." Trump was asked whether he believed some of the immigration raids had gone too far. "No. I think they haven't gone far enough."

The result has been disastrous for immigrants and Americans protesting the roundups. Officers have been filmed shooting pepper spray directly into the faces of people who don't appear violent or threatening, shoving and knocking protesters down and kneeling on their necks. Children have been hit with tear gas. Schools have been locked down as ICE patrols nearby. Students fear that parents won't be home when they do return from school. At least 170 American citizens have been jailed. Thirteen people have been shot by immigration officials since September. There have been no public reports of investigations of these shootings. Trump and his acolytes have called fatally shot Americans: domestic terrorists, assassins and far-left agitators. These shootings, beatings and gassings offend the humanity of Americans. A poll found that 63 percent of registered voters disapprove of how ICE is handling its job.