This commentary is by David Moats, of Salisbury. He is editorial page editor emeritus at the Rutland Herald, where he won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials on Vermont’s civil union law.
Twenty-three new citizens from 12 countries took the oath of allegiance to the United States at the federal courthouse in Burlington on Jan. 14. They came from four continents and represented a slice of America as diverse as might be expected.
What united them was their pledge—to a nation and a Constitution establishing freedom, equality, and the rule of law.
In the context of our time, such a pledge might require a leap of faith. No mention was heard that day of death and intimidation on the streets of Minneapolis, or of the crackdown on immigration that has swept up thousands across the country.
Instead, it was a day to celebrate immigration and the freedom and opportunity that drew the 23 new citizens here—from Jamaica and Brazil, from South Korea and Vietnam, from Iraq and Sri Lanka, from Nepal and Peru, from Slovakia and France, from Canada and the United Kingdom.
Kevin J. Doyle, U.S. magistrate judge, presided over what he called a “very joyous” day when the “essence of our American democracy” was on full display.
His own parents were naturalized citizens, immigrants from Canada, seeking the opportunity and freedoms that have drawn immigrants here for centuries. He said the day’s ceremony offered a chance “to reflect on those freedoms with fresh eyes.”
It’s worth considering the preconditions that allow those freedoms to flourish in a democracy. One is respect for the individual, embodied in laws protecting individual rights and restraining the arbitrary power of the government.
Lying, on the other hand, is an act of disrespect—a government that lies to the people disrespects the people. The killing of Renee Good by an agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was bad enough; the lying that followed was symptomatic of the corruption and rot pervading the present administration.
Consider the way that law enforcement officials, under ordinary circumstances, are required to act. Officers making an arrest must have a warrant or cause, which means arrests are not arbitrary.
When action by an officer results in death or injury, an inquiry necessarily follows to determine if there was justification for the officer’s actions. Oversight of law enforcement is a necessary protection for the people, and responsible law enforcement officials know it.
Law enforcement officers are trained in how to react in all kinds of dangerous situations. Recourse to deadly force is sometimes warranted, but seldom.
A motorist disobeying an officer’s orders and driving away is not committing a capital crime. All it would take to hold the motorist accountable would be to take down the license plate number and issue a warrant.
But instead of holding law enforcement accountable, President Trump and other high officials scarcely paused before they turned their wrath on Renee Good, accusing her of being a domestic terrorist and of threatening the lives of ICE agents.
They issued these accusations in the face of video recordings that the world could see, showing the unnecessary and wanton killing of someone whose only offense was to try to avoid trouble by driving away.
In the aftermath, federal officials have said they will continue to block or impede any state or local efforts to hold ICE accountable for Renee Good’s death.
It’s worth asking what would happen in Vermont should a similar incident occur here. The ICE presence is not as overwhelming in Vermont as in Minnesota, but anti-ICE protests are frequent, and they can be expected to continue as long as the Trump administration’s unnecessary and brutal crackdown continues.
Vermonters ask simply that people in Vermont, citizens or not, be respected. Thousands of immigrants from Latin America live here, an integral part of the economy and community. Whether or not they have documentation, they deserve respect, as do Vermonters standing up in their defense.
ICE agents complain about the lack of respect that people are showing them. They ought to search their souls.
The lack of respect originates from the top—from the lies told by the president and others—and from the brutality of the sweeping crackdown.
Responsible police officers know that their arrival on the scene inevitably inspires anxiety and fear. It goes with the territory. Officers generally have thick skins, and they learn to deal with people’s fears by de-escalating tense situations and trying to put people at ease. That isn’t what’s happening in Minnesota.
Many of the 23 new citizens at the latest naturalization ceremony come from places where civil unrest has been a fact of life. In some of those places, democracy is an aspiration rather than a reality, and the government can’t be counted on to protect dissidents.
The United States has had a long tradition of protest, citizens raising dissident voices to oppose injustice. It also has a long tradition of cracking down on dissident voices.
The Palmer Raids of 1919 and 1920 came in response to the Red Scare. The white supremacist opposition to civil rights protests was visible in the film record of fire hoses, billy clubs, police dogs, and in Klan-inspired bombings and murders.
It is the freedom to protest—in opposition to lies and brutality—that inspires people at home and around the world. The people of the United States need to make good on the promise of freedom and respect that continues to draw new citizens to this country.
