As one who tried (in vain) to prevent ICE from illegally separating and moving the Jaramillo family to the black hole of DHS detention, and having attended the City Council meeting on Thursday, I think we all must keep in mind that we are all in unfamiliar territory and need to work together to chart a course.
Criticizing the Durango Police is understandable. We each need to critically review our actions to be more effective in the next round. But directing our anger about ICE and State Patrol actions toward the Durango Police for not knowing how to best intervene is counterproductive.
We face in ICE a highly militarized, belligerently extra-judicial force escalating its actions as a centerpiece of the current administration, whose explicit aim is to instill fear throughout our nation. Finding an effective way to confront this is challenging for all of us.
ICE’s outrageous, unacceptable actions may appear new to Durango; they’re not. Family separation and extreme violence were central to Colorado’s appropriation of native land, and both have been a feature of our country from the beginning, toward Native and African American communities, labor movements, queer sisters and brothers, etc.
Each of these outrages has been overcome through creating and expanding coalitions. We all have a momentous, long-term battle ahead. Let’s work diligently, collaboratively and courageously to find ways to effectively protect our loved ones and our country from this terror.
Scott Kuster
Bayfield
