ICE Raids, Broken Trust, and a Line We Cannot Keep CrossingThe impacts ICE could have on our communities, our economy, and the rule of law if we don’t make a change.
Our country has witnessed yet another tragedy tied to the unchecked actions of ICE. In Minneapolis, Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed during an ICE operation. And according to city leaders, she was present as a legal observer – someone there to help ensure people’s rights were respected. No matter how you look at it, a life was taken. A family is grieving. And a community has been forever changed. What happened to Renee Good is part of a broader pattern – one that has been unfolding and intensifying over the last year under Donald Trump’s administration. ICE raids are being used to instill fear. And that fear is tearing communities apart. I’ve seen it firsthand: Every summer growing up, I visited my grandparents in Brownsville, in the Rio Grande Valley. It’s a place that taught me what real community looks like: neighbors looking out for one another, families helping families, people believing that everyone deserves a fair shot. Late last year, when I returned to the Valley, that sense of safety and trust was gone.
I spoke with teachers, football coaches, small-business owners, and parents. Over and over, I heard the same thing: They’re scared. Parents are afraid to drive their kids to school. Shop owners hesitate to open their doors. Families are packing up in the middle of the night because they don’t know what the morning will bring. These ICE raids don’t just affect undocumented or mixed-status families. They destabilize entire communities. They weaken local economies. And they destroy trust – not just in immigration enforcement but in law enforcement as a whole.
If you believe in the rule of law and our Constitution, you should be deeply alarmed by what ICE is doing right now. People who are given authority are supposed to be trusted. That trust, once broken, is incredibly hard to rebuild. And what we’re seeing right now – both in Texas and across the country – is ICE being used to terrorize communities in ways that will set us back decades. We absolutely need a functional immigration system. But what’s happening now is not about solutions. It’s about cruelty. It’s about chaos. It’s about using fear as a political weapon. And when a life is lost, as it was with Renee Good, the response from this administration tells us everything we need to know. Instead of empathy, accountability, and transparency, we get denial and gaslighting. “Don’t believe your lying eyes” type of talk. That response is deeply corrosive – not just to immigrant communities but to the very idea that we live in a fair system where due process matters. Congress has the authority to step in here. And if Democrats win back the majority, we must conduct serious oversight of ICE: its leadership, its policies, who it recruits, and how it operates in our streets. This is about public safety. It’s about our civil rights. And it’s about who we are as a country. I believe Texans and Americans deserve better. We deserve leaders who bring people together instead of tearing communities apart. Leaders who solve problems instead of exploiting them. Leaders who understand that dignity, accountability, and justice are not weaknesses – they are the foundation of a functioning democracy. That’s why I’m in this fight. And I’m grateful you’re here with me. – Colin Paid for by Allred for Texas
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Thursday, January 22, 2026
ICE Raids, Broken Trust, and a Line We Cannot Keep Crossing
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