Brandon Friedman addressing the Dallas Police Oversight Board
I could go on. I have a whole list of these I don’t have time to go through. Each one is horrible. But I’ll spare everyone. In my view, these stories demonstrate a clear pattern of state-sponsored violence and abuse. When ICE launches raids, they do so masked, like cowards. They do so without judicial warrants. They go to arrest children while wearing more body armor than I wore in Iraq and Afghanistan. And while they are terrorizing some of our most vulnerable residents, the Department of Homeland Security is threatening to have opposition party leaders arrested for speaking out against it. This is not hypothetical. As I mentioned a moment ago, the Democratic mayor of Newark was arrested last week for attempting to conduct oversight of a privately-run ICE detention facility. Y’all, this is fascist behavior.
As we wait to see whether DHS will follow through on the threat to arrest more Democrats, it is apparent that this is not just an issue for undocumented immigrants. This is an issue for anyone who might speak up to suggest that maybe, just maybe, these people – people who came here seeking a better life – shouldn’t receive a life sentence in a Salvadorian concentration camp without due process.
Immigrants don’t come here to make our lives harder. They come here to contribute and, often, they come because they are desperate. Because this is the only safe haven they can reach, whether they’re fleeing cartel violence in northern Mexico, gang violence in Honduras, a collapsed economy in Venezuela or poverty in Haiti. And in almost all cases, they make our country better.
We should not pull up the ladder. We should help them.
Because that’s what public servants do. When I think of public servants, I think of postal carriers, park rangers, VA doctors and nurses, homelessness counselors, firefighters and the many helpful police officers I’ve met in Dallas. I think of all the people I worked with in the military, at VA and at HUD. Moreover, I think of the helpers Mr. Rogers talked about. You may remember that he once famously said, “when I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
That’s what I think of when I think about public servants.
But ICE isn’t helping. They’re not helping anyone. They’re not making us safer or more prosperous. With every new headline, I find it harder to understand what role they’re playing that would allow us to even call them public servants. What I’m seeing are masked thugs terrorizing communities across America.
![And I don’t want to see that here. Not in my city. If there is one thing I could express to Chief Comeaux as he navigates DPD’s role, it is that his first job, his job above all else, is to protect Dallas residents and to keep them safe. I read that on DPD’s website in its Mission Statement. It said the Department’s goal is to [quote] “help people and provide assistance at every opportunity.” [end quote] It says nothing about acting as an enforcement arm of an out-of-control federal agency based in Washington, DC.
So, my personal hope is that our local law enforcement will do whatever it takes to protect all Dallas residents, even if it is from the federal government. I believe that is the police chief’s job.
Therefore, my view is that it’s important that we formally express our dissatisfaction with his willingness to collaborate with ICE and we express our desire to see all Dallas residents protected, especially those in our community who feel justifiably threatened by ICE. His decision will determine what we, as a city, stand for as protests and raids escalate this summer.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eppsmw5nfmdzhfeymtzd3xbe/bafkreidnfl6tspgvjcwain77zgsthd6b7vxfngtuv62pui32zhxrvuvdyu)
And I don’t want to see that here. Not in my city. If there is one thing I could express to Chief Comeaux as he navigates DPD’s role, it is that his first job, his job above all else, is to protect Dallas residents and to keep them safe. I read that on DPD’s website in its Mission Statement. It said the Department’s goal is to [quote] “help people and provide assistance at every opportunity.” [end quote] It says nothing about acting as an enforcement arm of an out-of-control federal agency based in Washington, DC.
So, my personal hope is that our local law enforcement will do whatever it takes to protect all Dallas residents, even if it is from the federal government. I believe that is the police chief’s job.
Therefore, my view is that it’s important that we formally express our dissatisfaction with his willingness to collaborate with ICE and we express our desire to see all Dallas residents protected, especially those in our community who feel justifiably threatened by ICE. His decision will determine what we, as a city, stand for as protests and raids escalate this summer.
Last night, representing District 14 on the Dallas Police Oversight Board, I spoke about the department's willingness to collaborate with ICE here in Texas. It's something I feel strongly about.
I've included some text highlights below and will also share the full video.
