CROTON OFFICIALS POKE THE BEAR, PUT IMMIGRANTS AT RISK

The following letter appeared in a recent edition of The Gazette.

To the Editor:

For Donald Trump, politics is personal. He expects deference and does not tolerate being challenged. He is also President of the United States and not shy about using the awesome power of his office to respond to challenge.

Last week Croton’s Mayor, egged on by the “Croton clergy,” decided to poke the bear. Viral videos are rarely left to chance, and we are left to speculate on how an obscure video posted on the website of an obscure village got to be picked up by two right-wing media outlets which are watched by the President of the United States and his top advisors. Let’s just say that the Mayor and Newsmax both benefited from the result.

Ostensibly the video campaign was to ensure that immigrants in Croton know that the Police Department is not out to harm them on the basis of immigration status. I doubt that was the true intent, and the reaction since the video went global gives a reasonable inference that the video campaign was intended to enable the Mayor and clergy to paint themselves as the progressive woke defenders of the immigrant community.

“Border czar” Tom Homan warned Gov. Hochul that: “Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want: more agents in the community.” US Secretary of State Rubio said that the President takes the position that not only can visas be revoked by the President, but even lawful permanent residents (“green card” holders) can have their lawful status terminated by the President.

The scope of Presidential power is ultimately a matter for the Supreme Court. In the meantime, anyone who does not have citizenship is wise to exercise caution and not poke the bear.

Croton’s clergy and Croton’s Mayor have their own reasons for doing the video campaign, and their selfish preening has now put many of our Croton residents at risk. Director Homan believes that sanctuary city politicians don’t want ICE agents swarming their community. Obviously Director Homan has not met Croton’s politically-ambitious Mayor and its sanctimonious clergy. Many people in Croton would secretly welcome an ICE invasion: it would reinforce their sense of importance and demonstrate their woke progressive bona fides.

To them, Croton’s immigrant residents are at best a cause celebre and at worst collateral damage.

The Police Chief is in a difficult situation. That video should not have been done, and certainly not incorporated any individual who is not a citizen. Once the video went viral, the village should have edited out the individual and turned off the comments section. Instead the Chief’s boss (Mayor Pugh) bragged about how “extremists (including overseas) have targeted our videos.” The Mayor defiantly refuses to edit the video.

Political posturing is not courageous when you are putting somebody else in danger.

Some have shrugged this off with the observation that the immigrant featured in the video campaign is a grown adult who should have known not to cooperate with the police filming. Of course that negates the ostensible message of the video, but even more importantly: if ICE decides to make an example of Croton, it will not simply be that one individual who is at risk. The other people at risk may well be in an even more tenuous immigration status.

To the immigrants of Croton, a caution: The Croton cops are not your friends. The Croton clergy are not your friends. Friends don’t expose friends to danger. Croton’s Mayor will happily put a target on your back without a moment of regret if he thinks it will get him political advantage.

Trust them at your peril.

—Paul Steinberg, Croton-on-Hudson