172 Comments
User's avatar
Julie's avatar

It is too much, way too much, seeing that little boy in his hat. I zoomed in on his face and had it burned into my brain. I will NEVER forgive Trump for the harm he is doing to people, especially to children. Never.

Antonio Christopher Dittmann's avatar

And may we never forget. Ever!

Bette's avatar

Far too many in the US actually deny the existence of ICE and the fear they are instilling in everyone, and that it is far too similar to the path of Nazi Germany.

V J's avatar

not good either for elderly or infirm, the young, worse than a scar

emotional verbal, physical all wrapped in the same moment in time, the one

that never goes away, the emotional abuse. go ahead and look at him, he is dear

Bette's avatar

Agree. As a retired child therapist, this kind of traumatic experience negatively impacts this child's future to a significant degree.

John Joss's avatar

" . . . the conscience of 65% of the national population."

The other 35% do not possess a conscience, and they prove it daily, as they vow their continued allegiance to the orange narcissist-felon, the 'leader' without a conscience.

Lance Cherry's avatar

The 35% are the same monsters that sent six million human beings to the gas chamber three generations ago...

John Joss's avatar

Yes, Lance, and they are coming for as many innocent victims as they can find--to bully, to beat up on, and to . . . kill. And the essential core: follow the 'leader,' in this case the orange narcissist-felon whose name will never be uttered by me.

Linda Skinner's avatar

I was just thinking yesterday about that 35% and their inability to feel shame. There is no moral compass in that group. And that is damn scary.

John Joss's avatar

Yes, Linda, scary. Inhuman, or subhuman. But there is no apparent explanation or cure that has been forthcoming from anyone who might know. And . . . they walk among us.

j2

jane diaz's avatar

yeah, and they have the nerve to call themselves Christians

John Joss's avatar

CHRINOs. CHRistiansInNameOnly.

Leigh O'Mara's avatar

Sin begins when people start to look at other people as things.

Jonathan Reel's avatar

This answers the question (is anyone still asking?) whether or not we have “fascism” yet. Of course we do. Performative cruelty is fascism’s hallmark. Just as with taking kids from their parents under Trump 1, MAGA thinks stories like Liam’s dissuade would be migrants. Their logic isn’t wrong, just unconscionable.

JF's avatar

It is an indelible image. What pierced my heart was that I felt his body language displayed trust more than fear. Did he trust adults? Isn’t that what we want in our very young? And to see that trust being betrayed, as he stood there unaware, hit me really hard.

Keith Wresch's avatar

What will be the longterm consequences from the trauma inflicted on these children. It isn’t just the short term horror of locking them up, but what will this mean for their longterm physical, mental and emotional development.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Absolutely. The Democratic administration that wins in 2026 MUST have legislation already on tap to provide all necessary assistance to these children and adolescents.

John Peterson's avatar

And 40 years from now, when Liam Ramos is the junior Senator from MInnesota, I hope he pays it forward!

Frau Katze's avatar

They’re going to deport him.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Of course. Isn't Liam one of "the worst of the worst"?

Frau Katze's avatar

Presumably they will have been deported by then. Isn’t that the whole purpose of the camps: to hold them till they’re deported?

I don’t understand why some have been there eight months.

V J's avatar

..and, it is going to get worse

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Exactly. Isn't the maximum holding time for children agreed upon as days, not months?

William Wood's avatar

It's the Law. And we are a nation of laws.....aren't we?

Pat Hunt's avatar

So you would have returned a runaway slave to his owner? It was the law.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Indeed. Twenty years ago, we seemed to agree that torture was neither humane nor in the best interest of our own soldiers and citizens.

Now, the current regime seems to be devising each day new methods of torture for the most vulnerable among us.

Brad's avatar

Every performer next Sunday at halftime should be wearing that hat. Especially the Bad Guy.

Susan Sommer's avatar

I hope they show this dear little child on the large screen at halftime. My God - who are we?!

Brad's avatar

So perfect for BB to wear

willsx2's avatar

If I could knit I would make these hats for protestors. Unfortunately, I can only find the hat (or similar) on sites I refuse to give my money to.

Seraphita's avatar

Were you able to find the exact same bunny hat when you squeeze the white fuzzy balls, the ears stand up? I am determined to find one to replace his for when he gets back home. ICE doesn’t return the stuff they take from you. Would you please let me know those places you found the hat but won’t give your money to? Normally I would probably agree with you, but these are not normal times. Thank you for your consideration.

willsx2's avatar

I don't know if the ears stood up when the white ends were squeezed, but in doing a reverse image search I found a hat that looked very similar on Amazon as well as Temu

Seraphita's avatar

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have never, ever thought of buying anything from Temu. But as a 70 year old senior living alone with zero family left, I often have to go to Amazon for things I can’t get in my small town.

willsx2's avatar

I completely understand that some people live in circumstances where companies like Amazon are the most realistic option. If I were in your situation I would probably do the same. I am lucky that I am in a position right now to boycott companies I don't agree with but I know circumstances can change so I do what I can while I can.

Seraphita's avatar

Thanks for your understanding. I appreciate you❣️

Carolyn Nafziger's avatar

I don't know how much more my heart can take with this unspeakable cruelty that targets babies and children. When is the majority going to rise up and demand impeachment of the entire tfg cabinet for treason? Because what they are doing is destroy everything good about the country to the delight of the world's dictators. And if that is not treason, what is?

Judy Guenther's avatar

Why are these people being held at all other than for more performance cruelty? I never thought I’d live to see such vile, inhuman, and unconstitutional treatment of fellow human beings.

Sue's avatar

But you did see it, from 2017 through 2020.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

True, the first Trump regime was certainly a warning, especially after J6. But we've seen less impactful versions of the cruelty, even under the administrations that had a conscience and a heart.

But the level of cruelty in this MAGA 2.0 regime has reached well beyond even that of the first MAGA regime. And it's not just the cruelty. It's the blatant attempt to destroy every vestige of traditional democratic values that have kept us thriving as a nation for 250 years. Even the first MAGA regime didn't establish a government militia with a budget larger than every other law enforcement agency in the country. A militia that is intended to intimidate *everyone* who dares to defy the regime in the name of humanity and decency. A militia that has no rule of law to obey other than the commands of its superior officers. A militia that has been given the ability, given the orders, to kidnap, to beat, to maim, to kill with impunity. That's the difference between a mere would-be dictatorship and a real tyranny.

We'll know for certain come November. A wipe-out of MAGA in Congress and the Senate will show us if the differences have really hit home or not.

Tammy's avatar

It still dumbfounds me we are talking through this in a second Trump term. HOW did this happen? HOW did almost half our country vote for him? I still cannot fathom it.

Maribeth's avatar

There were still adults in the room who minimized this behavior.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Alas. "Where have all the adults gone?" -- Pete Seeger (revised)

Justin Lee's avatar

We've done this before. As Rachel Maddow reported in her podcast "Burn Order," the U.S. government designated interned Japanese-American children, including infants, as "alien enemies."

Sue's avatar

George Takei remembers pledging allegiance to the flag at a school inside a prison camp. He and the other children said "With liberty and justice for all" as they looked at barbed wire and armed guards outside the school windows.

Jennifer Phillips's avatar

what struck me, too, was that it appeared the child had been told "turn around and put your hands on the car" like any adult arestee (or why else would a little kid without gloves have hands on the bumper with his back to the adults around him? Horrifying and heartbreaking.

Maryann Boyd's avatar

This is all so very heartbreaking. Children should NEVER be treated this way. This once trusting little boy has probably learned to not trust other people. Who knows what psychological problems these children will have for the rest of their lives.

Patricia Lane's avatar

OMG. This is an irrational senseless cruelty devised by Donald Trumps criminal organization.

Stephen Miller the ghoul, has encouraged this behavior and insisted on it to his partner in children’s crimes, Donald Trump.

All the furor about the Epstein Files is legitimate, but incarcerating young children by Trump, currently is ok ?

This is a a horror, it’s inhumane, and they fully understand that and do it anyway.

These people are despicable destroyers of life and children.

This cannot be tolerated.

We must push back on these evil policies as hard as we can . This is just WRONG!

Jeff Falkner's avatar

No child should be in their detention centers. For that matter, no one , child or adult, should be held in those conditions.

Pat Nicklin's avatar

I will never forgive the orange monster, the people who support him, and the people who voted for him.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Please forgive me for being obnoxious, but I mean well:

Forgiveness is an art, not a science. We will need to reach deep into our creative spirits to find it in the coming years. But for the sake of our country and our children, we must.

Pat Nicklin's avatar

Good point, I will try, but first we have to be firm and get these people out of office.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Yes, 100%. That's why the protestors of Minnesota are doing our whole country the most valuable service imaginable at present. And we will all have to participate in the coming months, especially November.

Maribeth's avatar

I’m not an artist.

Brie's avatar

My heart is filled with tears and fear! I am just a little old lady, a retired teacher, an octogenarian unable to process the reality of what is happening in our country.

The more I understand the backstories of propaganda and insatiable greed, the more I ask myself "What can I do?" and for that I do not have an answer.

Only when I see the protests of people still guiding their lives from a moral compass I once believed we all shared -- only then do I feel some hope. . .

We the people really deserve and must demand moral accountability!

In spirit and through small donations, I support and applaud the courageous beings who are coming together to say: ICE is a cancer! This is not who we are!

Renee and Alex are martyrs; do not let their deaths be in vain. Let us all make our voices heard. We are all better than the pernicious hate feeding ICE.

I humbly ask every ICE participant to imagine the faces of their own families and friends in the crowds they are pointing their weapons at. . . because we are all one humanity. And we are all immigrants.

Douglas Peterson's avatar

Your contributions are amazing. Your post above, with writing that has such clarity and compassion, proves my point.

Please don't believe for a moment that you are not doing enough.

Frau Katze's avatar

As a commenter at the linked WaPo article noted: they don’t care about their own (white) kids killed in school shootings. Why would they care about brown kids? They don’t.

jane diaz's avatar

well, I dont "like" what you just said...but true

Meg's avatar

Brie - I, too, am a retired teacher and am 79 years old. We do have our voices and we cam write to our senators. I don't share your optimism, though, that it would do any good to ask any of the ICE participants or supporters to imagine faces of their families or friends. These people truly have evil, vile, hearts of stone and are unable to empathize with anyone.

Brie's avatar

Dear Meg, those hate-filled militia armed ICE agents were not born evil. The communities and cultures around them taught them to be beasts and bullies.

I have been unable to function for days that have grown into weeks trying to see the Why and the How.

I tried to expand out and see a larger landscape; I did and it was scary!

We cannot just be a nation where the biggest, meanest bullies get to control others' sacred destinies. Let our strong warriors fight for us, because that's what honorable leaders and warriors do! And let us, the old, the wise, the weak and the weary support the cause by refusing to see only fear and evil.

I need to believe that inside of each angry, belligerent, ignorant being who is shouting and wreaking destruction on those perceived as weaker -- just to make themselves feel more powerful -- I need to see that scared little child trembling in the deepest crevices of their hearts. I need to remain Human!

This has not been easy for me! It has been extremely difficult! But I have decided: I refuse to cower at their foolish bravado. I refuse to feed their anger --

Alex Pretti was murdered with such vengeance because he held a mirror to their cultish cowardice. He refused to be afraid. They were cowardly sheep draped in wolves' skins and brandishing big guns to hide their shame at what they had become. How else to explain such violence? Why else pour bullets into him after he was disarmed and helpless on the ground?

The Why and the How --so obvious and so tragic.

I can't march with a big sign. I can't run for a public office. I am even too old to manage the rigors of a high school teacher. But I will not let their glaring, shaming cowardice darken my heart and rob me of my joy and love of life.

They are wearing The Emperor's New Clothes and pretending they are fighting for the Holy Grail. They tell themselves we cannot see that quivering child, that cowardly adult, that crumpled moral code hidden behind their masks, their money, their titles.

But we do see. Even those who, in their own cowardice, are pretending the bullies in wolf skins are the righteous knights. Their bullets may claim even more martyrs, but our Truth of Spirit cannot be silenced. Our heroes with true moral courage will stand strong. Our heroes are uniting in a recognition of our One Moral Compass.

We the People know we are One Humanity and we stand strong and proud. We cannot be overcome by greedy schoolyard bullies and their spineless puppets. My heart goes out to every single peaceful protestor. Thank you for showing up!

John Peterson's avatar

One thing we can all do is write a letter to the President, demanding he cease and desist from these atrocities. Not an email -- an actual letter. Create an unforgettable visual image of 150 million letters. Not that the man reads, but he does understand imagery.

SandraLea's avatar

How much more do you and your colleagues need to see before you take direct action to end this? I know I have seen enough!

Mark Epping-Jordan's avatar

JD and Usha Vance have 3 children including a 5-year-old boy who doesn't look much different than Liam. I wish that any journalist who can ask him a question will ask him how he would feel if his child was in an ICE concentration camp. What the fuck is wrong with you? What the fuck is wrong with both of you?

https://people.com/jd-vance-children-what-to-know-11889129

Mary Kay Larcom's avatar

Just because you call yourself a Christian doesn’t make you one, JD. The religious hypocrisy of people is disturbing.

Mark Epping-Jordan's avatar

They say they are arresting the "worst of the worst." Alway projection and confession with these bastards.

Maribeth's avatar

This type of religious hypocrisy and cruelty has existed for centuries.

Lily who reads The Bulwark's avatar

He already kind of answered that.

https://people.com/jd-vance-defends-ice-after-agents-detain-5-year-old-boy-11891240

JD Vance is a hollow monster. He is weak and rotten from the inside out. I hope when his poor children realize who their father is, they go no contact. And I hope they do the same to Usha, who is happily enabling all of this.