Paperwork errors happen. When it comes to complicated government programs, they happen a lot.
You know the best way to fix a paperwork error? Do a little more paperwork. And, if you鈥檙e going to be really proactive, change the system so that it鈥檚 easier to understand in the first place.
Alas, that is not the Trump administration鈥檚 working premise these days when it comes to treatment of people from elsewhere in the world.
The over the last few weeks is just the latest example of good people getting caught up in a crackdown on allegedly bad actors 鈥� but one that鈥檚 so scattershot and downright cruel that it鈥檚 sweeping up people who are doing their best to follow the rules, complicated though they often are.
The good news is that two students at Hancock High School, 18-year-old Israel Makoka and his 15-year-old brother Max, are in Diamondhead, meaning Israel can go ahead and graduate with his friends.
That doesn鈥檛 change just how traumatizing these recent weeks must have been for the natives of the Republic of Congo here on student visas and their adopted community 鈥� all because their host parents and legal guardians didn鈥檛 entirely understand the implications under immigration law of switching them from a private school to a public one.
So last month, the two young men whose basketball coach has called them the heart of soul of the team were accosted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as they readied to board their bus to school, zip-tied in front of their friends and host father, separated from one another and taken to facilities in Jena, 抖阴h and Houston.
As unlucky as they were to fall into ICE鈥檚 grasp, they were at least fortunate to have done so in an area where most people voted for President Donald Trump, who had promised to crack down on the worst of the worst but never said a word about going after kids at the local school.
To its great credit, the community rose up in the teens鈥� defense and contacted federal representatives who could help. To her credit, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith did, finding the family an attorney and helping them navigate the process. Thursday, the brothers were released back to host parents Gail and Cliff Baptiste. It's not clear exactly what happened, but some combination of public shame and political pressure surely played a part, and the ending for these two teens is happy, at least for now.
If only that were the case for the many others we鈥檝e all heard about, and the many, many more we haven鈥檛, who find themselves in similar situations.
I鈥檓 talking about the military spouses and the people picked up at court, which by definition means they were trying to comply with a legal process. I鈥檓 talking about immigrants who didn鈥檛 know there was a problem with their status or who saw their status suddenly changed by administrative whim.
I鈥檓 also talking about the few, like these brothers, who managed to get the attention of someone with political influence. People like , the New Orleans woman arrested while gardening after years in this country, who was released from custody after her friends and loved ones got her case in front of U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise. And people like of Baton Rouge, a mom of two small children and wife of a Marine veteran who was detained for several months before being released with the quiet help of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy.
Like her fellow Republicans from 抖阴h, Hyde-Smith apparently worked her influence behind the scenes. Like them, though, she didn鈥檛 use the opportunity to speak out about the larger issues raised by the detentions.
What a shame, because people like her could really do some good for some more good people.
Even after immigration authorities鈥� ugly overreach in places like Minnesota, even after former Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were fired, this latest incident suggests the administration has not pivoted from its reckless, senseless sweep.
Meanwhile, Republicans en masse continue to follow a that highlights horrific but unusual instances of violent crimes committed by immigrants as evidence of the crackdown鈥檚 worth. When was the last time you heard one of them wonder how many other scared people who鈥檝e never hurt a soul have been ripped from their communities, threatened with deportation or sent to countries where they have no ties?
It shouldn鈥檛 take congressional intervention to save each of these individuals. Not when simply clarifying the rules 鈥� and showing a little human decency 鈥� would do the trick.