Fears are well-founded. I was appalled to read recently in local news about one such horrible example.
This was a Canadian citizen (white) who had lived in the United States for over forty years. He was brought here by his parents when the was 3-years-old and has permanent resident status. He's employed, married to an American woman, they have four kids and own a home. He says he held on to his Canadian citizenship all these years with the idea that when he retired he would probably move back to Canada. He says he still has a lot of family there, visits often, and his wife loves Canada. Around this time of year he usually takes a couple of his kids and they visit family members in Canada for a couple weeks vacation. This year, when he drove back with two of his children he was refused reentry to the US by ICE. Why? In 2007 he had been arrested and charged with Aggravated Reckless Driving, a criminal offense. ICE agents at the border told him, based on his having "a criminal record" they would not allow him to reenter the US. He was with his daughters and they tearfully pleaded with the ICE agents but were finally threatened themselves with arrest if they continued.
Right now this gentleman is still in Canada. His lawyer says, yes, he was once arrested for Aggravated Reckless Driving, and it's on his record. but he was never tried, much less convicted. The charge was reduced to Reckless Driving, a traffic violation, and he paid a fine. So far, the lawyer says, ICE has been non-responsive.
The man says he's trying to handle it as an extended vacation but meantime problems mount. His wife works but is unable to cover their mortgage payments on the house they own. His job is in jeopardy. His wife and kids are traumatized by these events.
The underlying problem may be, we have a tyrant in Washington, and the ICE agents are under pressure to show actions. They're doing what they think they have to do.
An absolute nightmare.
www.theguardian.com
