Blase Gapinski – Editor in Chief
One thing that I can’t seem to get away from when talking to people my age about current events is the phrase “I don’t do politics.”
This was something I once felt too. Talking about politics can feel like such a drag, especially when there really isn’t that much good to talk about.
When it comes to certain political issues, like mass deportations being executed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, we can’t sit back and have the mindset that “This isn’t affecting me, so I don’t care.” The violent and deadly tactics being used by ICE simply can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.
It took me a long time to realize that having this mindset is ignorant because it means we are just going to accept whatever is happening and not give it any thought or pushback. We are essentially complying with whatever is put in front of us and doing so willingly.
Our daily lives are shaped by political ongoings that influence everything around us and simply not caring strips away your voice. Even the daily news cycles we see are often shaped by what is happening around us politically. ICE practices and whether they are ethical or not have been a topic that has been pretty relevant for a few months now.
The discourse I often hear around this topic makes me start to understand why some people aren’t invested in politics at all. It can oftentimes be overwhelming hearing these conversations surrounding politics because of the little empathy and lack of care for human life that seems to surround some of these conversations.
What is happening throughout our country with ICE right now isn’t just political and it should make all citizens of the United States angry and unsettled. We are witnessing federal sactioned harm carried out against vulnerable communities who are already being told they don’t belong and should just disappear.
The normalization of routine deportations or violence being executed in our streets by a government agency fueled by hate should alarm everyone in the country.
While talking with a more well-versed friend about these issues, they said something that really stuck with me. A society that grows comfortable with cruelty directed at one group is a society that has lowered its standards for everyone.
I wrote this down because of how true the sentiment is. It really resonates with me because when the same government agency that is allegedly meant to protect U.S. citizens is targeting people based on perceptions made from racial profiling.
Isn’t this just going to make more U.S. citizens live in fear? And if we sit around as bystanders and act like these acts are defensible, aren’t we going against everything America stands for?
The Statue of Liberty, one of the most iconic landmarks in the U.S., has been a symbol of hope to many generations of immigrants who traveled here to seek a new life. This statue is an icon of U.S. immigration and has been standing for well over 100 years.
Is it really fitting for an iconic statue referred to as the “Mother of Exiles” to be standing in a place where we don’t see liberty and justice for all of our citizens?
Sure, you can argue that there is a process and a correct way to enter this country but isn’t there a better way to go about enforcing policies rather than instantly resorting to violence in our communities?
The longer we go without recognizing or acknowledging the problems within our society, the worse things are going to get. They say ignorance is bliss but at times like this, everyone should be worried about the people within our communities.
Jackie Moglia – Opinions Editor
To echo our editor in chief, I’m sick of hearing the phrase “I don’t do politics”. I frequently think back to a meme about people who say they don’t do politics, saying “Well, baby, politics is going to do you regardless.”
I’ve frequently heard people in class talk about politics and the news as something they only pay attention to as it pertains to them, something that I think is inherently dangerous.
Throughout the past few weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has garnered more attention, especially in Minneapolis, specifically the killing of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. These killings have followed the killing of Keith Porter Jr in late December 2025.
Since the killing of two white American citizens, I’ve seen a resurgence of a quote by Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller following World War 2.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
I’ve seen discussions about how people never thought that they would be impacted by ICE, that as law-abiding citizens expressing their constitutional right to protest they would not be the target. I’ve seen people say they didn’t think it would get this bad.
After the election, numerous people expressed their concerns over what would happen to their friends or family. When I spoke of the same fears, I was frequently told that they would only go after the “bad” ones. I wonder how those people have justified what has happened to Liam Ramos, the five-year-old boy detained by ICE.
Was he a “bad” one?
In Michigan, ICE activity is ramping up. Parents have been detained after dropping off their children at schools and bus stops. Child care centers are running through worst-case scenarios to protect children in the event of ICE raids. The North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Mich., is an ICE detention facility with the capability to hold up to 1,800 detainees.
In a few of my classes, we’ve talked about our Constitutional rights more and more frequently, specifically how the Constitution applies to everyone while they are in the United States.
Even non-citizens.
The issues going on are not just moral, they fundamentally endanger our democracy by denying Constitutional rights. Look at House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, who argued for warrants to be signed by immigration officials rather than judges: “Imagine if we had to go through the process of getting a judicial warrant.”
The Fourth Amendment, as interpreted by the Court, calls for warrants to be issued by a judicial officer or magistrate, specifically calling for one that is “neutral and detached,” and that cannot happen when the issuing party is engaged in law enforcement activities.
Politics affects us all, whether we think it does or not and whether we want it to or not, which is why it is more important now than ever to get involved and to speak out about what is happening.