Advocates denounce Biden administration’s deportation ‘perp walks’

Official White House Photo

Rafael Bernal for the Hill reports on a fascinating story that reveals much about the politics of immigration.  Immigration advocacy groups are asking the Biden administration to stop sharing videos of migrant families boarding deportation flights.  It is evidently part of an effort to show that the administration is tough on immigration enforcement.

At the end of last week, 11 groups in this letter called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop distributing the footage — sent to media outlets as “B-roll for removal flights” — and called on outlets to avoid using it.

“The use of this footage is shocking and dehumanizing, and ICE should immediately discontinue it,” read the release, led by the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC). 

“Entirely missing from these frames is the complexity of the human story behind each family, including the love, devotion, and courage that led that family to leave their homes in search of safety and the trauma of being forced back to danger. The blurred faces, militarized surroundings, and police pat downs of parents clinging to their children dehumanizes these families and portrays them as threats.”