| Jason,
My father's family fled religious persecution in Lebanon and came to America looking for safety and opportunity. He grew up in a Dover apartment building full of first-generation Americans, families who believed in this country and worked hard to build a life here.
When I see ICE agents terrorizing neighborhoods today, I cannot help but think about how easily that fear could have been unleashed where my dad grew up. Or maybe where your parents grew up? Or in your neighborhood now?
We can enforce our immigration laws, secure our borders, and keep people safe while still treating human beings with dignity. What is happening right now is not about public safety. It is about fear. It is about using unlawful and often violent force to advance a political agenda.
I saw what real accountability looks like when I served on my community's Police Commission after the killing of George Floyd. We invested in de-escalation training, mental health support, and transparency. I learned that strong law enforcement is built on trust and respect and with the dedication of officers who are committed to making our communities safer. What we are seeing from ICE today is the opposite.
Urgent changes are needed at the Department of Homeland Security, and it starts with immediately removing Kristi Noem as the head of that agency. An independent investigation of ICE misconduct and the shooting deaths of Ellen Good and Alex Pretti also must begin immediately.
ICE must not receive another penny until real reform is implemented. No more masks. No more nameless, faceless ICE agents operating with brutality and the protection of anonymity. ICE agents must wear body cameras and display clear, legible identification. No more searches without court-issued warrants as required by the Constitution. No ICE raids in churches, hospitals, and schools. No quotas that reward arrests of innocent people. There must be real oversight and accountability.
Across New Hampshire, people are standing up and speaking out against ICE. Local leaders, community members, and people from across the political spectrum are showing up at rallies, pushing back against ICE contracts for use of county facilities, deportation flights at Pease Airforce Base, and the purchase of a warehouse in Merrimack to be used as a detention processing facility. Across New Hampshire, people are united by the conviction that unchecked power threatens all of us.
Change has never come from silence. It comes from people showing up, speaking out, and standing together. I believe we can turn our anger into action. I believe we can build something better. Together.
Thank you for being part of this fight,
Stefany Shaheen |
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