Editor,
As required by state law, for the third consecutive year, county supervisors recently held a public forum to hear comments about Sheriff Bolanos’ practice of voluntarily handing over released prisoners to ICE (“County looks at ties to ICE” in the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 edition of the Daily Journal).
Roughly 70 people spoke, some with heart-rending personal testimony of the devastation they have suffered. The supervisors were unmoved. They might have listened to those who spoke, but they evidently heard nothing. Sure, they can tick the box that says they have held their legally required public forum, nothing more than a farce of political theater, but they and Sheriff Bolanos obviously have no intention of changing their shameful practice, even though they know what happens to people handed over to ICE whose outrages are well and undeniably documented. Other counties in the Bay Area refuse to collaborate with ICE, but Sheriff Bolanos happily continues to do so. This is shaming to all of us who call San Mateo home.
Following World War II, the Nuremberg Trials ruled that those who handed Jews over to the Nazis, knowing they would be sent to death camps, were as guilty of those crimes as the Nazis themselves. Likewise, Sheriff Bolanos and our elected county supervisors share equal responsibility for the suffering, torture and death of those they voluntarily hand over to ICE. And we, members of the public, also share in that guilt if we divert our eyes and pretend that we don’t know what is happening in our name. Black Lives Matter in San Mateo? I don’t think so.
David Usher
San Mateo
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(5) comments
Kudos to Sherriff Bolanos and elected country supervisors for taking a stand and not folding under the pressure of misguided and misinformed individuals. Perhaps Mr. Usher can write about the suffering, torture and death committed by those not handed over to ICE. Those outrages are also well and undeniably documented. Maybe Mr. Usher can set an example and pay for all liability, deductibles, and claims for crimes committed against citizens by those not turned over to ICE. At least Mr. Usher arrived at the correct conclusion about one thing – black lives don’t matter. It’s because all lives matter. BTW, if you see something, say something. The number is 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. The ICE website also features a Most Wanted page. Meanwhile I’ll put the time and location of the next public forum in my calendar and be sure to notify ICE. If they're lucky, maybe they can pick up a few more potential deportees.
David - you are deliberately confusing the uninformed. The sheriff is turning convicted criminals over to ICE. As far as I can tell, the Jews were not convicts but innocent victims of the Nazis. To compare them is insulting.
Very insulting.
Good ol' Bordello Bolanos.
David
While legal and illegal immigration are subjects that will definitely need attention from our next president’s administration, I feel sloganeering is not a good way to move those topics forward.
I am curious. You wrote that county supervisors “know what happens to people handed over” and that ICE “outrages are well and undeniably documented.” Do you have any credible and reliable information to support your claim? You also wrote that county supervisors share “responsibility for the suffering, torture and death of those they voluntarily hand over to ICE.” Same question… do you have any credible and reliable information to support your claim?
I agree with Dirk. Your comparison between the surrender of convicted criminals (especially those who have committed crimes in this country) for deportation and the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust is insulting.
By the way… on the eve of WWII, the MS St. Louis with 900 Jews aboard trying to flee the Nazis was turned away by the United States. The ship returned to Europe and more than 200 of those Jewish passengers were ultimately captured by the Nazis and put to death. You wrote “those who handed Jews over the Nazis, knowing they would be sent to death camps, were as guilty of those crimes as the Nazis themselves.” Are you suggesting that FDR was a war criminal? What credible and reliable information do you have that would support such a claim?
Most Americans believe immigration can strengthen our country and they support a pathway to citizenship. That is a good thing. However, do you think most Americans support policies that allow convicted criminals to remain in the US so those interlopers can continue to victimize others?
Consider the following quote by economist Thomas Sowell… “Immigration laws are the only laws that are discussed in terms of how to help people who break them."
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