When the era of MAGA power finally ends, there will be voices urging the nation to move on.
They will argue that pursuing accountability for those who enabled Trumpism is petty, vindictive, and divisive.
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This argument has been made before—after Watergate, after the Civil War—and it was wrong then. It will be wrong again.
The Case for Accountability
Those who perpetrated the reign of terror—from ICE officers in the field to the bureaucrats who drafted legal justifications—must face consequences.
Their immunity from prosecution and civil suits must be eliminated retroactively. They must be investigated, tried, fined, and ostracized from public life.
ICE itself must be abolished. Mere reform would be a betrayal of democratic values.
But abolishing the agency is not enough; the individuals responsible for its atrocities must be held personally accountable.
Recent Killings Highlight Urgency
Two recent deaths underscore the need for justice.
On a Tuesday in Houston, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three and business owner, was shot dead in his car by an ICE agent while driving to work.
He had immigrated from Mexico 35 years ago. Three coworkers survived the shooting but were taken into ICE custody.
The agents had been looking for someone else.
Days later, in Biddeford, Maine, 25-year-old Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was killed by ICE.
Born in Colombia, he had a work permit and held two jobs to support his wife and three-year-old daughter.
