I am truly sorry the abductions have begun in the North Country. The incursion of unnamed agents with unspecified warrants removing unnamed individuals from the fabric of our lives will create endless misery for some and a great deal of harm for everyone else. I cannot imagine the agony of those with no legal standing and few financial resources as they may be detained indefinitely or may be deported to who-knows-where, so I won’t try. My heart goes out to them and I pray that in time the legal system can come to their rescue.
Let us consider what else will be lost.
The absconded individuals will no longer be able to provide the services they provided. They will also no longer be able to pay rent, property taxes or taxes and fees on their businesses. In order to process this loss, credit card firms, lien holders, landlords, and taxing agencies will require information: the names and disposition of the individuals that no longer pay their bills. This information, however, is not forthcoming. If and when it does, the legality of the current actions will drag out in courts. Landlords and other debt holders will suffer both the loss of income as well as the inability to move on as homes, apartments and businesses stand idle.
Are there other negatives? In 1976 an INS agent informed my mother: “You have outstayed your VISA. You are not eligible to remain in this country.” He proceeded to stamp her passport with a stamp reading “Final VISA” and informed her she had 3 months to leave the country, or become illegal. She was able then, with help of friends and her partner, to close up, transfer, and depart in an orderly manner. She left (and after a year was able to marry her American partner and so return to the USA). Today, however, without those slim 3 or 6 months to organize a departure and with the threat of imminent arrest, indefinite detention and likely deportation to god knows where, any number of VISA and green card holders may decide to cut their losses and return to Vietnam, India or China, or Uganda, Uruguay or Canada, again leaving behind irreparable holes, which along with the uncertainties surrounding tariffs, the shrinking demographic as well as the financial shackles being placed on universities and hospitals, will negatively affect the local economy. Stay tuned.
What can be done? I will invest my time in writing polite emails to center-leaning Republican Senators to not vote for the proposed BBB budget… as well as in prayer for an end to the raids.
Local Government Matters 