Rebuilding trust in a time of ICE
Following the recent ICE raids in Keene, the city council and mayor held a public meeting, packed to overflowing. Recent national images are seared in people’s minds of ICE brutalizing and even killing people. Many lawful immigrants are afraid. Some who initially went into hiding have now left the state. And mistrust remains.
What can we do? One step would be to mark all municipal police and emergency vehicles more clearly. This could help prevent confusion between local police and ICE, or between police vehicles from neighboring towns. Police in Troy and Rindge accept money in exchange for assisting ICE. How are immigrants to make a distinction between friendly and unfriendly police?
Beyond vehicles, what if the police chief were to embrace the hopes expressed by the mayor and city council members at that meeting? Such as a determination to make their city one that welcomes all people. A city where the police will never take money for working with ICE. A city where color of skin or language or accent will never be the basis of extra suspicion.
What if there were artwork, posters or murals around town celebrating multicultural diversity and respect for our many heritages?
How about when police officers or fire department folks go into school classrooms or school assemblies? Could they include a message wanting the community to be a welcoming place for all people? What would it be like if they included a personal story of where their families came from, before they were here in the U.S.?
These are all little steps. But over time, even little local steps might add up to a good deal more trust than is felt right now.