An Urgent Warning!

History will not ask if this moment was comfortable. It will ask if our local police leaders did their duty when it mattered most.

In past posts, I have attempted to lay out my argument that local police in America are more than likely to be the last “guardrail” of our struggling democracy. I say again — local police must resist federal overreach in their cities!

In an era of federal masked agents and “ghost” tactics, the survival of our democracy depends on our local police holding the line for the Constitution.

In Radly Balko’s article on December 24, 2025, entitled “Trump’s Immigration Nightmare: It Is Happening Here,” he argues that the second Trump administration has rapidly dismantled constitutional norms to deploy a “deportation force” that operates more like a secret police than a traditional law enforcement agency.

Balko’s reporting serves as a chilling but necessary alarm, meticulously documenting how quickly constitutional “guardrails” can be dismantled when federal power is unchecked. By weaving together the perspectives of veteran police chiefs, retired judges, and career legal officials, he proves that the current shift toward masked, unidentifiable agents and “ghost” tactics is not merely a policy change—it is a fundamental assault on the legitimacy of American law enforcement. He makes it clear that if local departments do not stand up now to protect their residents from these “questionable and unlawful” methods, the damage to community trust and democratic stability may take generations to repair.

The following is a summary of this article. You can read the full text HERE.

Trump’s Immigration Nightmare

Militarized and “Ghost” Tactics in American Cities

• Violent Enforcement: Balko details a shift toward high-aggression tactics, including federal agents using PIT maneuvers to cut off cars and firing on unarmed individuals. In Chicago, agents have arrested parents and nannies during school drop-offs and deployed chemical irritants in residential neighborhoods, sometimes enveloping schools and local police.
• The “Mask Show”: A hallmark of this era is the use of masked, unidentifiable agents who operate out of unmarked, often rented vehicles. Experts and former officials compare these “ghost” operations to tactics used by authoritarian regimes to instil fear and avoid accountability.
• Targeting Communities: Enforcement has expanded to include “papers, please” stops based on racial profiling and the detention of U.S. citizens. In Los Angeles, agents were even seen conducting raids while wearing horror-movie masks.

Institutional and Legal Failures

• Lies in Court: The administration has exploited the “presumption of regularity”—the legal doctrine that assumes government lawyers act in good faith. Just Security has documented over 60 instances where DOJ attorneys misrepresented facts or law to federal judges to justify crackdowns.
• The Accountability Vacuum: Balko highlights that it is nearly impossible to sue federal agents due to the erosion of legal precedents like Bivens. Because agents know they have “de facto” immunity, there is no structural incentive for them to remain within constitutional bounds.
• “A Disgrace to Policing”: Veteran law enforcement leaders, including former CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus and NOBLE President Reneé Hall, describe these tactics as a “disgrace” that wipes out decades of progress in community policing and de-escalation.

The Broader Warning

Balko’s central thesis is that these actions are not “just” about immigration; they represent a fundamental assault on democratic ideals. By treating immigrants as “animals” and activists as “domestic terrorists,” the administration is breaking down the healthy American antipathy toward the domestic use of military force. As one retired judge warns, “It always starts with the minorities… If we don’t stop them, it will be American citizens”.

_____________________________

I find myself returning often to the haunting warning of German Pastor Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out… Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” We must recognize that, in this moment, silence is surrender. Like Radley Balko, I keep thinking that this is only the beginning of a much larger erosion of our democratic pillars. If we allow the most vulnerable among us—our immigrant neighbors and communities of color—to be targeted by masked agents and stripped of their basic human dignity, we must ask: Who is next?. If a “loyalty” to a political agenda replaces the constitutional duty to protect all persons, the circle of those considered “un-American” will inevitably widen. I can’t help but wonder if there will come a day when speaking against federal power is deemed an act of disloyalty so severe that even citizenship offers no shield from being cast out to an unknown country. History warns us that fear is a corrosive force that undermines the constitutional order itself; if we do not stand up for others now, we risk a future where no one is left to stand up for us. I pray I am wrong… but I wonder.