ICE, ICE, Maybe… Billionaires Should Start Paying Taxes

Local authorities have been deputized to accelerate deportations

As my small, normally peaceful, rural town has been inundated with ICE agents sweeping through and destroying the lives of hardworking people, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of outrage. Families are being torn apart, businesses are losing loyal employees, and entire communities are gripped with fear. Yet, rather than confronting the real economic issues affecting working people—corporate greed, stagnant wages, and exploitative labor practices—our leaders have chosen to scapegoat immigrants, pushing mass deportation policies that do nothing but sow division and cruelty.

The debate over immigration has been framed around questions like, Who will pick our fruits and vegetables? Who will repair our roofs? These questions, though seemingly practical, completely miss the point. The real issue isn’t whether the economy will suffer from the loss of exploited migrant labor. It isn’t about whether undocumented immigrants are criminals or not. The real issue is that blaming migrant workers for economic or social struggles is nothing more than a political distraction—a deliberate scapegoating tactic that allows those in power to avoid addressing the systemic issues hurting working-class Americans.

The Myth of the Immigration “Problem”

Migrant workers, both documented and undocumented, play a vital role in the U.S. economy. They are essential to industries like agriculture, construction, and hospitality—industries that rely on labor-intensive work that many Americans simply do not want to do at the low wages currently offered. However, instead of discussing why wages remain low, why workplace protections are weak, or why corporate profits soar while workers struggle, politicians pushing mass deportation policies shift the blame onto immigrants.

Rather than addressing corporate greed, wage stagnation, or the housing crisis, they point to the “threat” of undocumented workers. This is not a new strategy. Historically, whenever economic inequality becomes too visible, leaders who serve the wealthy elite find an easy target—whether it be immigrants, unions, or the poor—so they can divert public anger away from the policies that keep wealth concentrated at the top.

Exploitation, Not Immigration, Is the Problem

The true crisis isn’t that undocumented immigrants are taking jobs from Americans. The crisis is that the system relies on exploited labor to keep industries running. Employers often hire undocumented workers precisely because their lack of legal status makes them vulnerable to abuse—low wages, long hours, dangerous conditions, and little recourse if they are mistreated.

Yet, instead of fixing the labor system—raising wages, ensuring workplace protections, and holding corporations accountable—leaders advocating for mass deportations are reinforcing a system that treats immigrant workers as disposable. If the government were truly concerned about American workers, they wouldn’t be waging war on immigrants—they would be cracking down on wage theft, union busting, and exploitative corporations.

The Dangerous Precedent of Mass Deportations

History has shown that when governments start mass deportations, human rights abuses follow. Programs like “Operation Wetback” in the 1950s resulted in racial profiling, wrongful deportations of U.S. citizens, and brutal treatment of migrant workers. Today, renewed calls for mass deportations open the door to even greater abuses—indiscriminate arrests, family separations, and a system that allows cruelty under the guise of “law and order.”

These policies don’t just target undocumented workers; they create a dangerous precedent that allows for broader government overreach and normalized xenophobia. They fuel fear, distrust, and division, making it easier for the powerful to exploit both immigrant and American-born workers alike.

Taking a Stand: The Fight Against Scapegoating Policies

The conversation shouldn’t be about whether immigrants are “good” or “bad,” or whether the economy “needs” them. It should be about rejecting the use of vulnerable communities as scapegoats. It should be about demanding policies that protect all workers, regardless of status. That means:

• Fighting for fair wages and labor protections for all workers, so no one—immigrant or not—can be exploited.

• Challenging corporate greed that thrives on underpaid labor.

• Rejecting mass deportation as a cruel and ineffective policy.

• Pushing for humane immigration policies that allow workers to participate fully in society without fear.

The real fight isn’t for or against migrant workers. The real fight is against the systems that exploit them while distracting the public from the root causes of economic inequality. Instead of asking who will pick the crops or repair roofs, we should be asking: Why is the economy designed to rely on exploitation in the first place? Until we shift the conversation, we’ll continue to fall into the same political traps that keep working-class people—of all backgrounds—divided and struggling.