For many Trump supporters, the violent raids by ICE on men, women, and even kids who they think are here illegally have become some kind of twisted entertainment. It’s like watching a brutal TV show, except it’s real people getting hurt.
Why bother watching wrestling when you can scroll through social media and see an ICE officer spray a pastor in the face with pepper balls? Why bother with reality TV when you can see a baby ripped out of his father’s arms and people cheering like it’s a sport?
But the laughs stop when the same cruelty lands on your own doorstep. That’s exactly what happened to the Brown family in Missouri. Jim Brown, a Navy veteran who proudly voted for Trump, is now seeing the dark side of what he once supported. His wife, Donna, is a 58-year-old grandmother and legal U.S. resident. She came to America at age 11 from Ireland and has lived here for decades. But ICE still came after her.
Their excuse? A small mistake from over ten years ago, a misdemeanor for a bad check that she already paid for. ICE called it “moral turpitude” and treated her like a criminal. They grabbed her from her home and locked her up in a rough Kentucky detention center, far from her husband and grandkids.
Now, this grandmother is spending Thanksgiving in a dirty cell instead of with her family. Her court hearing has been delayed again and again, now pushed to December 18. Jim Brown says he fully regrets his vote for Trump. He told reporters he can’t believe this is what his country stands for. “Show me where in the Bible this is okay,” he said. “She’s innocent. She’s legal. Why is she even on trial for something that was already dealt with?”
Donna says being in detention is “absolutely horrible.” And yet ICE defends what they’re doing. They’ve labeled her as a “criminal alien offender” who threatens public safety. A grandmother of five, locked away like she’s dangerous.
It’s a cruel joke, only this time, the joke’s on the people who once thought it was all just tough law and order.