The anti-ICE protests continue outside the Delaney Hall ICE facility in New Jersey. Protesters are now mostly out of state professionals. It all began on May 22, after detainees at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark launched a hunger and labor strike over alleged poor living conditions and lack of medical care, although I suspect they are better than what they had at home.

On May 25, New Jersey U.S. Senator Andy Kim and state Gov. Mikie Sherrill were denied entry to the facility because they did not make a formal request to visit. This is normal procedure for visiting ICE facilities.

Naturally, as I am sure was their plan, shortly afterward protests began outside the facility that increased in violence until Governor Sherrill finally allowed New Jersey State Police to assist ICE officers on May 29.

Border czar Tom Homan inspected the facility and said the food was good, with varied menus, that onsite healthcare was provided and that living conditions were good. Now Homan is a gruff, but he is the man who settled things down in Minneapolis and he is a straight shooter and I believe him.

It isn’t easy to determine who is funding the protests. The participating organizations describe themselves as grass roots organizations depending on small donations but some, and likely most, receive grants from the likes of the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Open Society Foundation described as affiliated with the Open Society Network established by that advocate of “destabilizing America” George Soros.

The detainees being held in facilities like Delaney Hall entered the United States by crossing the Rio Grande River or through gaps in border fences with no passports or visas and while this may only be a misdemeanor, it is not a minor infraction. These illegals are being detained until arrangements can be made for their return to their homelands. If they were released, any reasonable person would not expect them to turn up at an airport for the plane ride home. They would disappear into the wilds of Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia or New York and as Democrats hoped would become loyal Democratic voters after a general amnesty.

Democrats have advocated furiously for the disbandment of ICE, which is the same as advocating for open borders, and recently blocked funding for Homeland Security for 75 days. Although funding is now assured through Sept. 30, 2029, rest assured that Democrats will again raise the rallying cry to abolish ICE.

The mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is an important one. It is to protect America by enforcing immigration laws and conducting criminal investigations to preserve national security and public safety. Put simply ICE protects us from terrorists, criminals and undesirables seeking to enter this nation. It also protects us from illegal and dangerous goods entering the country. It is an organization essential to both border security and national security,

This nation has always benefited from legal immigration but the uncontrolled entry into any nation of undocumented aliens, most of whom will never be assimilated, can destabilize a society. You only must look at the immigration problems in Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland and Great Britain to understand the problem. The goal of Democrats is to destabilize our nation so that they can remake it in their image.

What were the Democrats up to during the Biden administration when they opened our borders to anyone? My answer, and I hope I am wrong, is that Democrats wanted to fundamentally change our nation so that they can rule it rather than govern it.

When a party governs power is vested in the office, not the person holding it. Leaders must operate within constitutional limits, laws, and regulatory frameworks. Governing requires constant negotiation with institutions, citizens, and opposing factions.

On the other hand, to rule means to exercise supreme command, restricting the behavior of subordinates through sheer authority and fear. Power is heavily concentrated around a single national figure, monarch, or ruling clique. Orders flow downward, and citizens lack formal and effective mechanisms to influence those choices.

Democrats hope the illegal aliens they allowed in during the Biden administration and any subsequent Democratic administration will out of gratitude vote for the party and keep them in power for years. This would allow them to make Puerto Rico and Washington states ensuring four safe Democratic Senate Seats. It would also allow them to further cement their power by packing the Supreme Court to ensure a progressive majority.

Voters should remember that the National Democratic Party is no longer the party of John Kennedy, Hubert Humphry or Daniel Patrick Moynihan. It is now the party of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the “Squad”, and Senator Bernie Sanders. It is also the party that elected communist mayors in New York City and Seattle.

It is currently supporting a senate candidate in Maine who is either a communist or a fascist. I don’t know which and I don’t think he does either. If Democrats are allowed to rule it would mean more ultra-progressive policies, a much more massive and controlling government and the beginning of the end of this nation as we know it.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com