To the editor:
Federal ICE agents recently took a man into custody in Great Barrington, an incident that angered the owners of Creative Building Solutions. One of them took a video of the incident. I know the owners; they are nice people whom I respect. But their anger here is misdirected.
In the video, one of them repeatedly asks for the agents to show ID and claims that she has a right to do so. One of the agents politely says they are not required to show ID. He is correct. The person being taken into custody may have a right to ask for ID. Bystanders do not.
If someone believes that a person is being taken into custody unlawfully, they should call the police. Interfering is neither wise nor lawful. One of the agents suggests that “you should call the locals.” I strongly suspect that Great Barrington Police were aware that this incident was in the works. That would accord with standard operating procedure.
One of the owners also repeatedly asks why the agents are wearing masks and suggests that they are doing so because they are embarrassed. They don’t give any indications of being embarrassed. The agents are also wearing bullet proof vests. The agents know that Berkshire County is populated by people who strongly oppose arresting immigrants. The agents don’t want to be doxed and certainly don’t want to risk being physically attacked.
Most importantly, I believe that judgments shouldn’t be made about either the agents or the man taken into custody. The agents are most likely normal people who like pets and kiss children. There is no reason to view them as storm troopers. And, for all we know, the man being arrested could have a record that justified taking him off the streets. Treating him as a victim simply because of a dislike for what the Trump administration is doing (which I deplore) is naive.
Finally, people should be careful about interfering, physically or verbally, with any law enforcement activity. Doing that can get you in trouble. In particular, harboring fugitives has always been against the law.
Richard Allen
North Egremont
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