Barb Kalbach.

Leading up to last year’s election, then candidate Donald Trump campaigned heavily on deporting immigrants on a massive scale. It’s something he’s followed through on, regularly claiming that his Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency would target “the worst of the worst.” It’s a refrain Kristi Noem, Trump’s head of Homeland Security, has echoed recently.

We all want safe communities, vibrant neighborhoods, and not to live in fear. People who commit violent crimes should be held accountable. I think there’s very little disagreement with this. But looking at the evidence, Trump’s mass deportation claims of “the worst of the worst” aren’t adding up.

Across the country there are mothers, fathers, friends, and neighbors being snatched from the street, the workplace, or not returning home from a routine immigration check-in. Stories like these are happening here in Iowa, too.

A few months back 200 or so workers at the JBS plant in Ottumwa had their visas revoked. I remember asking myself “now what did they do wrong or who did they pose a threat to?” All they did was wake up, go to work at a plant where the labor is demanding so we can get meat from the grocery store, and return home to their families. I bet they knew others in the community, shopped at local stores, and helped neighbors in need. Are they the worst of the worst?

Or the story of 20-year-old Pascual Pedro from West Liberty, who went to a routine immigration check-in only to be detained and deported to Guatemala less than a week later. Pascual, who has no criminal background, was the star of his high school soccer team. He was a laborer and the godson of his parish priest. Was he the worst of the worst?

A few weeks ago, the Belmond-Klemme Community School district issued a shelter-in-place order during school hours due to the presence of Homeland Security in the area. Many thought ICE was conducting a raid in the area. Later it was reported that Homeland Security officers were there to conduct “welfare checks.”

I chatted with an Iowa CCI member who grew up in Belmond and still has family there. She said that so many in the community were confused, scared, and angry at what was happening. And I can’t imagine how those students felt that day. More than a third of Belmond-Klemme’s students are Latino.

Kudos to the Belmond-Klemme school for doing the right thing and protecting their students. Schools are, and should be, a safe haven for all kids. Public schools are an antidote to the division we face as they bring us together and promote civil discourse and the exploration of different ideas.

Just the other day I read about Noem and Trump’s ICE having deported, or on track to deport, at least 18 DACA recipients. These are immigrant children who were brought to America with their parents, grew up here, made a life here. And we promised to protect them from deportation and provide a pathway for citizenship.

We need immigration reform, I believe that’s clear. But we don’t break promises. We don’t terrorize children. We don’t tear families and our communities and economy apart. We’re better than this.

Barb Kalbach lives in Adair County, Iowa. She is a 4th-generation family farmer, a registered nurse, and board president of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Barb can be reached at barbnealkalbach@gmail.com.