She was tracked, followed and taken after dropping her child off at school.

A mother of 4 was detained by ICE after dropping off her child at school in Maine.

This week, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced with visible glee that ICE has already arrested 50 people in Maine. She called this deployment “Operation Catch of the Day.” Her office told the American public that this operation targets “the worst criminal illegal aliens,” people with violent records who pose a threat to our safety.

That is a lie.

We know it is a lie because we know who they took.

One of the reports from the Portland Press Herald is particularly chilling. On Wednesday, ICE agents arrested Micheline Ntumba. Micheline is not a violent criminal. She is an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of Congo who has lived here for 10 years. She has no criminal record. She has a pending asylum case. She is a mother of four.

After she dropped off her child at school, ICE agents tracked her. They followed her as she walked home. And then, with one of her daughters watching from the window, agents took her away.

Federal Agents Wearing Masks in Lewiston (Photo Credit: Lewiston Sun Journal)

Here’s the truth about “Operation Catch of the Day.” It isn’t about keeping us safe, or catching hardened criminals. The cruelty is the point. It is about terrorizing a mother who is simply trying to walk home after ensuring her children are safe at school.

This is Personal To Me

I am the son of an immigrant. My father emigrated from Australia when he was 12 years old, spending a month in a shared cabin with his four siblings on a ship bound for America.

I was seven years old when I watched him become a naturalized citizen at a ceremony in Portland in 1996. But before that, he served our community. My father was a pastor in Lewiston and served as the chaplain for the Lewiston Police Department.

Jordan's family at his father's naturalization ceremony in Portland in 1996 | Jordan's Father's Lewiston Police Chaplain "Card"

No one on the police force hid their identities behind masks then, or now.

When federal agents parachute into our communities, hiding their faces and abducting mothers with no criminal records, that is not law enforcement. That is a betrayal of the rule of law. It is an attempt to rule by fear.

We Have Been Here Before

This attempt to intimidate the immigrant community in Lewiston is not new, and neither is our resistance to it.

One of the first demonstrations I ever attended was in Lewiston in 2003, over 20 years ago. A small group of neo-Nazis organized a hate rally to tell Somali-Americans to “get out.”

My parents took me to the counter-rally. That day, fewer than 20 Nazis went to their demonstration. They were met by five thousand people from Lewiston, standing in solidarity with our neighbors. We drowned out their fear with our unity.

We have seen this hatred before. We stood up to it then, and we won. We will stand up to it now.

We Are Not Powerless

While they rely on fear, we rely on the Constitution and the rule-of-law.

This November, we face a critical election. We must elect members of Congress who will not bow to this administration’s lawless actions.

Opposing what ICE is doing in Maine and Minnesota, and in so many places across our country, is not a disregard for the rule of law. I would argue it’s the opposite.

As citizens in a democracy, it is our duty to stand up for the Constitution and to stand up for our neighbors and their rights. It is our duty to call out lawlessness, especially when it is being committed by our own government.

Donald Trump would have you believe that somehow demanding accountability and oversight of ICE is a disregard for the rule of law. That is absolutely false.

When our rights are under threat, when this administration and Kristi Noem are targeting our communities and instilling fear, it is more important than ever that we stand up in solidarity for one another and say no.

Too many elected officials and candidates for public office are afraid of saying the truth.

• It is NOT un-American to criticize a government agency that is terrorizing citizens and inciting violence.
• It is NOT un-American to protest federal agents parachuting into our communities hiding behind masks.
• It is NOT un-American to say these aggressive and unlawful tactics from ICE require clear action from Congress in order to prevent future abuses and ensure accountability.

Standing up to this lawlessness — standing up for the rule of law — is the most American thing that we can do.

Do Not Live in Fear

In this moment of crisis, we have to stand strong together with each other and stand up for the truth, for our rights, for the rule of law, and for our Constitution. We need to elevate our voices for those who have no voice.

Do not give in to fear and intimidation.

Opposing what is happening to people like Micheline Ntumba in Maine is our duty. When the rights of our neighbors are infringed upon, we all need to do our part.

Here is what you can do right now:

1. Call your Member of Congress. Remind them that they hold the purse strings. Tell them you expect them to speak out and take action against these tactics.
2. Show Up. Protest works. Public demonstration works. Yesterday we gathered at Kennedy Park in Lewiston. And we will keep showing up to call for an END to this administrations lawlessness.

Maine, be kind to one another. Look out for one another. The world is watching.

See you in the park.