On the heels of Durango City Council’s resolution reaffirming support for immigrants (Herald, Oct. 10), ICE officers stopped and detained a father and his two children on their way to school earlier this week. Word spread quickly, and Durango responded. Citizens, young and old, gathered to protest ICE’s actions and show solidarity with the family. What began as a peaceful protest escalated into what Chief of Police Brice Current described as “an unlawful protest that turned into a riot” when he addressed City Council on Oct. 30.
This is uncharted territory for our community – and for our country. We are learning, alongside local law enforcement, what it means to respond to the presence of a federal agency whose tactics, in this case, were overtly aggressive and deeply out of step with Durango’s values.
Yes, it is a crime to enter the U.S. illegally – but it’s a misdemeanor and civil, not a violent, criminal offense. This family has an active asylum case that should proceed through proper channels. They complied with all U.S. immigration requirements and the terms of their case. Now, the federal government is reneging on its own promise simply because there is a new president. That is not law and order – it’s a betrayal of due process and basic decency.
Donald Trump once pledged that immigration enforcement would focus only on violent criminals. What we’re seeing instead are families and children – people following the rules of the asylum process – being targeted and traumatized. Two children, ages 12 and 15, spent the day not in school, but in custody, and now in a detention center in Texas. Fortunately, they remained with their father, despite early misinformation from ICE suggesting otherwise.
Meanwhile, the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the Attorney General’s office and is pursuing a case against the ICE officer who assaulted Franci Stagi – grabbing and throwing her phone, then throwing her to the ground (Herald, Oct. 31). This was clear misconduct and excessive force by a federal officer. ICE agents did not have the right to seize her property or assault her.
We’re also learning how to exercise our First Amendment rights responsibly. Every citizen has the right to ask questions, to protest, and to be heard – but not to physically interfere with a government operation. That distinction matters. There’s a way to protest peacefully without crossing that line, as seen during Durango’s “No Kings” rally on Oct. 18, which remained calm and lawful. Protesters who chained themselves to a fence and blocked access crossed into an unlawful act – even if their motives were well-intended. The Durango Police Department found itself navigating, in real time, the narrow boundaries between protecting constitutional rights and upholding the law. It is not easy work.
What’s most troubling, though, is the conduct and intent of ICE itself. Masked agents. Unmarked vehicles. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. Agents who threw a woman to the ground. This is not policing; it’s intimidation. It’s offensive to the professionalism and accountability that define our local law enforcement officers, who undergo extensive training to serve as true officers of the peace.
Let’s be clear: ICE officers do not have federal immunity, despite claims by Trump adviser Stephen Miller. They are bound by law like any other officers – and they must be held accountable when they cross the line.
We have a new reality in Durango. The federal government’s actions have brought to our doorstep what many only saw on national news in major cities – children separated, families detained, and violence justified under the guise of enforcement. The national emergency is not what’s happening in our streets. The national emergency is what’s happening in The White House: a government using fear, intimidation, and cruelty as policy.
Durango is a caring, compassionate community. That’s why this moment has been so emotional – and why it has united people across generations and backgrounds. The passion we’ve seen is real and inspiring. But it must be matched by discipline, lawfulness, and courage.
No, Donald Trump, we don’t need a “rapid response” team of National Guardsmen. We need leaders who remember that public service means serving all the people, not punishing the vulnerable.
Coretta Scott King, the wife of the late Martin Luther King Jr., once said:
“I must remind you that starving a child is violence. Neglecting school children is violence. Punishing a mother and her family is violence. Discrimination against a working man is violence. Ghetto housing is violence. Ignoring medical need is violence. Contempt for poverty is violence.”
