Jayson F, St. Louis, MO
On June 9, ICE agents detained three teenagers in Collinsville, IL.
During a traffic stop, local police found the teens only had passports with them, so they towed their vehicle and abandoned them at a nearby gas station. Shortly afterward, ICE agents arrived and detained all three.
When asked why ICE agents showed up at the gas station, the sheriff claimed it was a coincidence. When asked how ICE knew the teens’ immigration status, the sheriff again claimed ignorance.
The Illinois Trust Act prohibits local law enforcement from assisting with immigration enforcement. But the capitalist state’s laws are written for the ruling class’s benefit, not ours.
The three teenagers include two 19 year olds and one 16 year old, Jesus Alexis Cruz. Cruz’s family have sought their son’s whereabouts, which they’ve still been denied.
The cost of deporting a single person in the United States can exceed $70,000, and ICE’s total 2026 funding exceeds $68.5 billion. Meanwhile, we could end homelessness for $20 billion annually, hunger in the US for $25 billion, and provide free, universal college education for a fraction of ICE’s budget.
The same Epstein class that kidnaps and sexually abuses children also kidnaps and deports migrant children to scapegoat immigrants and divide the working class.