An Open Letter to Local Police, CBP, and ICE Officers
Why Participating in Immigration Raids Will Backfire on You, Your Family, and the Badge We Swore to Honor
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To My Brothers and Sisters in Law Enforcement,
I write this as someone who served the NYPD for three decades — through riots, blackouts, terrorism, and political upheaval. I know the pride, the pressure, and the impossible choices we face in this job.
This message is for those of you now being asked — or lured — into immigration raids. Whether you’re in local PD, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), you need to hear this before it’s too late:
These raids will backfire — not just morally, but professionally, personally, and generationally.
And for officers of color, or those from immigrant families? This road is especially dangerous.
To Local PD: You Will Lose the Trust You Need to Do Your Job
When you assist ICE — even passively — your badge becomes a weapon, not a shield. Communities you’ve spent years trying to build relationships with will go silent.
- A University of Illinois study found that 45% of Latinos (regardless of status) are less likely to report crimes when police collaborate with ICE.
- In Los Angeles and Houston, domestic violence reporting among immigrant women collapsed following high-profile raids.
You’re not protecting your city — you’re making it ungovernable. And when people stop cooperating, your job becomes harder, more dangerous, and more isolating.
To CBP and ICE: You Are Being Used
Many of you joined to secure borders, stop drugs, protect people. But lately? You’ve been tasked with tearing families apart.
Ask yourself honestly:
Are you going after cartel traffickers — or the landscaper who’s lived here 18 years?
Are you arresting threats — or traumatizing toddlers?
Former agents are speaking out:
- James Tomsheck, ICE’s former internal affairs chief, described systemic “corruption” and pressure to pad arrest numbers.
Hector Hernandez, a former ICE supervisor, resigned because of the treatment of non-criminal immigrants, saying:
“We were separating mothers from children for misdemeanors — I couldn’t do it anymore.”
This is not law enforcement. It’s political theater. And you’re the actor left holding the bag.
Officers of Color: Don’t Think You’re Safe
More than 50% of Border Patrol agents are Latino. Many ICE officers come from immigrant families. But don’t think your uniform protects you.
- In 2019, ICE detained U.S. citizens like Francisco Galicia, an 18-year-old Latino with valid documents — held for three weeks, lost 26 pounds, no apology.
- Latino and Black officers have reported retaliation or being “iced out” when speaking up about misconduct.
- History shows: when the tide turns, the system doesn’t thank its enforcers — it scapegoats them.
You could be enforcing a policy that turns on your own relatives next. Are you prepared for that?
Short-Term Money, Long-Term Regret
Sure, the overtime is good. The bonuses are tempting. But here’s what’s waiting down the road:
- Lawsuits. These raids often violate due process and civil rights. Officers involved can be named.
- Public exposure. When the press, watchdogs, and social media get involved, your name could become a headline.
- Mental toll. The images you carry — crying children, pleading parents — don’t fade. The guilt doesn’t go away.
You don’t need to be a hero. But you don’t need to be a pawn either.
There Are Other Ways to Serve
You joined this profession to stand between order and chaos — not between families and their children.
You can choose differently:
- Transfer out of units participating in raids.
- Speak up within your department.
- Refuse to lend local police support to federal overreach.
- Support sanctuary policies that protect public safety and human dignity.
The Badge Should Mean Something — Or It Means Nothing at All
History will ask where we stood. Don’t let your legacy be that you followed unjust orders for a little more in your paycheck.
Let it be that you protected, when it mattered most.
With respect, urgency, and hard-earned experience,
A Brother in Blue
Retired Law Enforcement Officer
Feel free to share, print, and repost this letter.
This is not about left or right. This is about right and wrong — and whether the badge you wear still means something worth defending.
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