A call for accountability from ICE and from ourselves

Martha's Vineyard island lies off the coast of Massachusetts. Reached only by ferry boat or small plane, it can seem a world apart from the agonies of the mainland. It is not. 

It has long been a landing spot for successive waves of migrants, hardy people willing to work. Early English settlers here pushed the native Wampanoags to the margins of the island, where they were often joined by previously enslaved people of African descent. Seamen and whalers from around the world came in the 18th and 19th century; the East Coast Black bourgeoisie populated the vacation town of Oak Bluffs. At present, about 20 percent of the year-round population are referred to by others as "the Brazilians" -- working class, relative newcomers from the Azores and continental Brazil itself whose industry keeps much of the life of the island going.

ICE sails away with some of its captives in a summer raid.

That mixed migrant population has put a target on the island for ICE under the Trump regime. 

When we are on Martha's Vineyard, we attend Grace Church (Episcopal) in the town of Vineyard Haven. The priest of this friendly parish shared a message this week in an island newspaper about the nightmare the Trump's anti-migrant crusade is inflicting on this place. 

Time to hold ICE accountable for its actions 

by the Rev. Stephen Harding 

As a priest ordained in the Episcopal Church, I am bound by the vows I made at my diaconal and priestly ordinations and by our Baptismal Covenant. When I was sworn in as a chaplain for the New York City Fire Department, I took an oath to support and uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of New York, and the Charter of the City of New York. As a citizen of the United States, in addition to the rights provided by the Constitution, part of my obligation is to support and defend the Constitution.

When I served as director of pastoral care at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, my department and I were expected to comply with the medical center’s policies. We were directed and expected to report any unethical practice, or anything that might involve wrongdoing. The policy explicitly stated that if we saw something being done that was wrong and kept silent, our silence made us complicit in the wrong.

I believe that once Donald Trump is no longer president of the United States, and there has been time for reflection and the restoration of the rule of law, the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and their enablers will prove to be among the more shameful moments of our country’s history. ...

... ICE has made itself judge, jury, and enforcer, with no transparent oversight or accountability. By wearing masks, refusing to identify themselves, and detaining individuals without charging them, ICE agents are indistinguishable from masked vigilantes, and jeopardize the safety of the public and themselves. 

... If the elected, appointed, and other government officials cannot keep their oath to protect, support, and defend the Constitution of the United States, then they, too, are acting dishonorably, and are complicit in ICE’s actions.

I remain convinced that the people of the U.S. are fundamentally decent, compassionate, and generous. The tactics, actions, and insolence of masked ICE agents demean themselves, disrespect our dignity as human beings, and diminish us as a nation. ...

If ICE and other Trump officials should be held accountable, the rest of us can't turn away from our own responsibilities in the times. What can we do to care for and protect strangers in our midst? What can we do to replace government leaders who are doing wrong?