I was a combat soldier in Iraq. Here's the 1 question everyone should be asking about ICE right now

[FakeNoose]

27. Reading further at the OP link:

Kudos to sheshe2 for sharing this!

The answer is uncomfortable but unavoidable. Either this is their mission — or they are operating outside accountability.

Minnesota is demanding a full legal investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, including allegations that lifesaving medical care was delayed or denied. Refusing transparency or investigation is not partisan disagreement. It is a constitutional failure.

Screenshot (author in Iraq)


When armed agents operate beyond the reach of law, they are no longer public servants. They are something else entirely.

Mercenaries are defined not only by who pays them but by what restrains them. Mercenaries answer to orders, not to law, ethics or public accountability. That is precisely why soldiers and law enforcement officers hold codes of conduct so fiercely. Without those codes, uniforms become disguises instead of safeguards.

As a veteran, I refuse to accept mercenary behavior hiding behind federal badges on Minnesota soil. This is my home. Minnesota stands for liberty, justice and due process — not secrecy, immunity or violence without consequence.

Staff changes are not legal accountability. Silence is not justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. Minnesotans are demanding a full, independent investigation under state law into the agents involved in these deaths. No one — federal or otherwise — is above the law of this land.

If ICE and the Border Patrol cannot operate within the Constitution, with restraint, transparency and accountability, then they are not fit to carry out their mission in Minnesota — or anywhere else. Because when force is untethered from law, our freedom is already in danger.

Diana Oestreich is a combat veteran, founder of The Waging Peace Project, and author of “Waging Peace: One Soldier’s Story of Putting Love First.” As an author, activist and soldier-turned-peacemaker, she’s a nationally recognized speaker at the intersection of justice, nonviolence, faith and how everyday peacemakers are challenging and changing our world.

Article originally published in HuffPo.