We want in

“ICE Out” is a good slogan and there’s no reason to back off just because the monster is getting a face lift. (Adios, Bovino.) But it’s time to elevate another slogan: “We want in.” Specifically, into the immigration detention facilities, starting with the Whipple lockup. Not personally, but by way of reliable surrogates, we need to see what’s happening in these black holes.

The Trump administration’s reaction to the Renee Good and Alex Pretti murders shows why. They will say anything if they think they can get away with it, and what they do say is best understood as ad copy (“murderers, rapists, and pedophiles!”), tethered to reality by the thinnest of threads or nothing at all. Recent events, however, demonstrate that even some of their stalwarts can be shaken out of their trance by video footage.

The problem is that it’s unlikely anyone will pull video out of a detention facility. But given the brutality of what the goon squads are doing when they know they are being recorded, what’s happening inside is likely much worse. Anecdotal accounts have been horrific. Cold overcrowded cells, Tylenol for appendicitis, rotten water for baby formula. True or not, we need to see it.

Cheers to the elected officials who a few weeks ago tried to get into the Whipple facility. They were blocked, but they should persist by any means available, including lawsuits. In the meantime the rest of us could start making more noise about it. The message: We want in. ICE and border-control holding facilities should be subject to frequent, unannounced, and thorough inspections, conducted by independent examiners who are not on Trump’s leash.

David Rubenstein

Longfellow