Change is going to happen.
Consequences are going to happen.
It seems lately people have had a tough time understanding that truth.
They have forgotten you can debate policy without demonizing the person enforcing it.
Sure, peaceful protests – keep it coming.
During peaceful protests, however, people do not die.
Case in point, the latest death in Minneapolis over the weekend.
Sure, people know what they saw versus what they are being told happened.
But what are you going to do about it since the reckless protesting already has everyone in a place of no return.
Even worse – if the aggressive protesting continues, it will likely result in more deaths.
Add to that, mainstream media and politicians who spin their stories any way they want alongside social media crusaders trying to get views and clicks.
Serious spin, folks. And speaking of spin, even though there is video footage of the Minneapolis man’s death and people are insisting there was no reason, Greg Bovino, the US Border Patrol’s commander-at-large says different.
And for that it seems the protesters have decided to add more fuel to the fire.
And by way, it was a Border Patrol Federal Agent and not ICE who killed the man this past weekend. Facts matter!
Bovino said his officers were conducting a targeted operation against an illegal alien with a criminal history when a man approached with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. They attempted to disarm him, he violently resisted. The agent fired defensive shots fearing for his life. He said the man wanted to do massive damage with the two magazines he also carried. He used the word massacre.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem added words that did not appear to fit with the “people’s stories” either.
However, continuing to aggressively protest, and blow whistles and whip up chaos reminiscent of a war zone is not the answer whether you are a paid protester or an irate liberal.
The truth is if it keeps going on, more people are going to die – and the illegals are still going to be deported.
Does the blue really want to get rid of ICE completely?
What about law enforcement – get rid of them too?
What is the solution to fill that hole?
The blue folks have even started mentioning they want guns.
Good thing nobody listened to them when they wanted to get rid of the 2nd Amendment.
I saw a Minneapolis man say he bought an AR-15. He plans to use it after he takes lessons. That’s not going to end well.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the Biden administration figures exceeded 10 million illegals coming in under his presidency.
Unvetted and trained to infiltrate for battle, do the democrats promoting this mess have any idea what 10 million people, including those who openly hate America, really looks like and what can happen?
Say it again – you really want to get rid of law enforcement and ICE?
Do you also want to keep the illegal murderers, human traffickers, rapists, and those involved in other crimes in your neighborhood too?
No consequences? Does that mean no consequence for Americans who do the same thing?
I know people say the baddies are a small number – well until they murder or rape your child.
Let’s not forget the voices of the emotionally distraught who are horrified as to how the U.S. could take a child from a parent for deportation.
Probably about the same way an illegal parent can run off and leave his child behind with ICE (the other part was a fantastical story for mainstream bait click). Even the little boy’s mother would not open the door to take him.
Should law enforcement officers also just let every drunk driver, murderer, rapist, pedophile, or whatever go free since they might have a child at home?
And how about the Somalians in the U.S. defrauding various states for years.
According to www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_5ec4cab8-d1df-4785-86bb-eb0a6688d3e8.html, since 2020, “fraudsters have scammed at least $36 billion and as much as $3 trillion in tax money from federal entitlement programs, dwarfing the amount federal prosecutors claim was stolen in Minnesota’s federal food aid scandal known as Feeding Our Future.”
And that doesn’t even count the “Learing” Center dollars or other scams that have been going on for years.
Should we just keep everyone here in the U.S. now – consequences be damned?
How many illegals do you think Trump has sent home so far?
What about 3.1 million ICE deportations and 56 deaths?
Awful, right, how could he?
Oh wait, that was Barack Obama aka the “Deporter in Chief.” And remember Tom Homan, Obama’s Border Czar, how many of you cheered when he was awarded the 2015 Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service by Obama.
What changed from then to now?
According to The New York Times, Trump has only deported 622,000 – with 1,900,000 self-deportations as of the end of 2025. During his first administration he maxed out at 932,000 deportations.
And yes, it is a crime to overstay your welcome due to the Visa Overstay Enforcement Act of 2023 (Biden time), making certain overstays a federal crime with criminal penalties.
And for those who decide to come in illegally, that’s also a crime that will get you in trouble.
A Gallup Index poll ranked the U.S. as #1 globally for undocumented residents (approx. 14 million).
Trust me, if we had the Gestapo like some people are parroting when referring to ICE, that 14 million would probably be much lower.
In fact, I asked AI for an explanation about the Gestapo/Ice narrative – do you know how foolish that sounds?
AI explained, “The comparison between ICE and the Gestapo (secret state police of Nazi Germany) is a highly contentious topic. Critics exaggerate similar tactics to express fear of rising authoritarianism, yet there are profound differences in legal, historical, and operational contexts.
“The Gestapo was the key instrument of terror in a totalitarian, one-party dictatorship (Nazi Germany), responsible for identifying, arresting, torturing, and murdering political enemies, Jews, and other perceived ‘undesirables’ across Europe. The Gestapo operated entirely above the law after 1936, with no judicial review, accountability, or legal recourse for victims and relied on secrecy, informant networks, and absolute, unchecked violence.
“ICE on the other hand is a federal law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security in a democratic country, responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws, conducting criminal investigations, and managing national security. ICE operates within the U.S. legal framework and agents are subject to constitutional law, federal oversight, and judicial review. While using aggressive tactics, ICE operates in an environment with public debate, political opposition, and legal challenges.
“The key differences and similarities emphasized the Gestapo was an engine of genocide. Scholars emphasize ICE does not operate with the same genocidal intent or on the same scale of atrocity.
“Gestapo violence was routine, sanctioned, and limitless, ICE’s use of force is subject to investigation and prosecution.
“ICE can be challenged in court, whereas that would not have been possible in Nazi Germany.”
So now you know the difference, you’re welcome!
Here is another ego monitor. If you are a Democrat, would you still think it was awful for both people who recently died in Minneapolis to have died if they were Republican?
And for my Republican friends, would you still be horrified by the non-peaceful protests if Republicans were those in the crowd versus the blue people?
It’s clear some Americans have fallen prey to the psychological tactics of not only real crowd images versus AI generated crowd images (look for three arms, two heads or no outline of a face), but also tactics of fearmongering using threats of terrorism and disease to justify security measures, divide and conquer methods and normalization of surveillance “for your safety” if you just drink the Kool-Aid.
This country has been sick for a while on the Kool-Aid.
From government overreach to lazy Americans who never noticed the cageless prison bars getting tighter because they were too busy programming smart phones, homes, pets and cars or deciding on their fourth big screen TV and laughing at the “conspiracies” while getting jabbed and staring at their shiny toys through zombie eyes.
Now, we’re on the verge of dying. And the cancer is being fed by a steady stream of division and hate fueling unrest and fear.
For example, corrupt politicians like Minn. Governor Tim Walz – who is still beating the battle cry, inciting violence – when he should be curling up in a ball figuring out how he is going to manage his upcoming hard fall.
People fancy they want to be “freedom fighters,” without even knowing the definition.
True freedom fighting in American style would be to end the narrative that is feeding the root cause of the chaos.
Of course, the U.S. will not die.
But not because of the protesters banging on their pots and pans demanding illegals be left alone and that ICE goes away.
It will not even be because of Pres. Trump since all this started long before he came on the scene.
The United States will survive due to its people; the democrats and republicans of every color, age, religion, born here or with “legal” citizenship, who have enough sense to see what is happening and take responsibility to vote, remove the current disease in D.C. and affect change together peacefully.
Who knows, perhaps the U.S. will acquire another state under Trump’s administration. It has been 66 years since Hawaii became the 50th.
Perhaps the alliance the U.S. has with Europe and NATO is not the future, does it have to be?
Ultimately, what does the Constitution say to do?
And we’ll do it while you either flow with the change or die in the current swimming against it.
Because in the United States, you still get to decide.
Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.