ICE arrested someone on my block.
Walking my dog, I saw the witness first.
Across the street, watching intently,
phone at the ready,
should filming be required.
Rounding the corner, I saw it too.
A partial view.
Tunnel vision between two buildings.
Flashing lights.
Multiple monstrous vehicles.
Enormous, unmarked, imposing.
A black SUV,
sprawled across the driveway
of my Spanish-speaking neighbors.
Positioned with unquestioned authority
and split-second agility.
A man emerged from the SUV,
sporting camouflage
and a bullet-proof vest.
Were my neighbors okay?
Was the ICE raid for them?
Father, mother, middle school son, high school daughter.
All day, I watched.
Unsettled.
Straining to see the tiniest movement
of their window shades.
Were my neighbors all right?
It was not my neighbors.
Just a single man,
pulled over in his truck.
Just –
Just –
Relief, but also guilt.
The man must have
family, friends, co-workers, housemates.
Will they learn what happened to him?
Did ICE case out a local meat-packing plant?
Like vultures,
scouting for his license plate?
Did they follow him home
as the night shift ended?
There was no due process, the witness said.
No courtesy.
No asking for ID.
A single man whisked into a waiting vehicle
which sped away just after dawn.
His white F150 moved to a nearby lot.
Briefly.
Then it disappeared.
The witness said,
shaking her head with resignation,
“I sure hope that
he committed some terrible crime.”
Photo by Scott Rodgerson on Unsplash
3 Responses
Jenni, thanks for capturing this experience and the emotions that race through us as we watch. May God bless our neighbors who fear for safety of their loved ones. And may our government and the Church find ways to help these neighbors rather than hold them as prisoners.
Jenni, That was a powerful entry and all too real in our “new” world.
Did this really happen in Sioux Center, IA? That is mind blowing! But I have thought about such a scenario and what would I do. I’m 78 so it would be foolish for me to intervene I think. Perhaps if I can, take pictures. But mostly, do as Jenni has, write down all the details that I saw and share it with whomever I can. And, of course, pray for all involved. Pray for safety and justice for the person or persons taken. Pray for those involved in the act, that God would touch them in a way that they examine themselves and see the cruelty and injustice in what they are doing. I don’t know. It is something I never thought I would see in the land of the free and home of the brave. God help us all!