Soon after the Trump administration took over in January, the Department of Homeland Security posted a statement bragging that it took immediate action “to stop the invasion at the southern border and to empower law enforcement agents to deport criminal aliens.” The accompanying photos showed th e arrest of a tough-looking Haitian citizen who it said had been convicted of multiple drug offenses. Deportation insist that the feds are focusing on dangerous criminals. Yet a recent deportation case involving a Laguna Niguel couple highlights the broad-brush approach the administration is taking—one that is sweeping up people who are in no ways a threat to anybody. This is typical of government at all levels. As George Washington famously said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence-it is force!” In sweeps such as these, reason almost always is left behind. As the Register reported, the Colombian couple, Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, entered the United States without authorization in 1989 and has pursued legal options to stay here over the past 36 years. Neither has a criminal record. They’ve showed up at all their immigration appointments, raised daughters here and have posed no threat to anyone. Yet, per their daughter, they were put in handcuffs and ankle chains and marched to a detention center. Related Articles There’s no spinning away the sloppiness revealed by the Yemen leak UC’s diversity statement rule was Orwellian Violent attacks against Tesla are abhorrent Trump ends legal pathway for migrants Paul, Massie right to push back on Trump’s big spending protectionist agenda U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, made the requisite point: “If someone has no criminal background or gang affiliation, why are they a priority for deportation? This is a waste of resources that should be used to remove dangerous individuals — not break up families and target hardworking people. We need smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes actual criminals, not senseless deportations.” Yes, we understand the law is clear—and the couple has exhausted its legal options. But we find it hard to fathom why these deportations would be a priority, or why there couldn’t be some way to allow law-abiding residents who contribute to our communities to stay here. To paraphrase Mr. Bumble from Oliver Twist, if the law supposes the Gonzalez’s are a problem, then “the law is [an] ass.” ...read more read less