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Dear Family and Friends,

Do you still support President Trump’s deployment of masked ICE agents conducting arrests that are intimidating and warrantless? We share siblings, close friends and grandchildren. We speak often, yet we avoid discussing politics because we fear what might happen if we do. It feels as though we stand on opposite sides of a chasm too deep and too dangerous to cross.

But are we truly so far apart?

Every day now brings another troubling report of an ICE arrest that Americans experience as excessive and unlawful. I suspect many of you are troubled by this as well. Perhaps the divide between us is not really about values, but about the echo chambers and algorithms that keep us angry, fearful, and polarized.

If we set politics aside, I think we can agree on what we want for our families and communities: fairness, accountability, safety, personal responsibility, and protection for our children. We want immigration laws that are humane, lawful, and enforceable.

Right now, our political culture encourages us to reject anything associated with “the other side.� But liberals are not always right, and conservatives are not always wrong. The reverse is equally true. We need to return to basic shared values.

Surely, we can agree that convicted criminals should be held accountable and that law enforcement should follow policies designed to protect public safety and constitutional rights. Arrests should involve due process, judicial oversight, and professional investigative standards.

Community organizations, legal advocates, and institutions such as the American Bar Association are working to ensure access to legal counsel and to challenge unlawful searches and detentions. Their role is not to undermine public safety, but to uphold constitutional protections that belong to all of us.

Still, reacting to abuses after they occur is not enough. Like treating the symptoms of an illness without addressing the cause, enforcement alone cannot solve the deeper problems driving migration.

The narrative itself must change. We should reject anti-immigrant rhetoric and instead promote fairness, respect, and practical reform. The United States is not the only country grappling with migration challenges, and there are successful strategies around the world from which we can learn.

Rather than relying primarily on aggressive enforcement, we should address the root causes of migration by working with other nations to improve safety, economic opportunity, and political stability. Reducing desperation abroad reduces forced migration here.

We should also modernize our immigration system. Expanding legal pathways for immigration, improving guest worker programs, increasing processing capacity at ports of entry, and reducing immigration court backlogs would create a system that is both more orderly and more humane.

Can we agree on this much? We all want safe homes and secure communities. Yet many Americans now feel less safe watching masked agents conduct operations in schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Public trust erodes when enforcement appears indiscriminate or politically motivated.

As far as we can tell, ICE is not consistently prioritizing dangerous convicted criminals for deportation. Instead, longtime contributing residents, Dreamers, asylum seekers, and mixed-status families often seem to bear the greatest consequences.

Most immigrants in these categories are already documented within the immigration system. Unless they commit serious crimes, why should they be targeted for intimidation and removal?

Why can we not create pathways to legal status for longtime undocumented residents and Dreamers who obey the law and contribute to our communities? Why can we not prioritize keeping families together? Why can we not invest more in English instruction, job training, and programs that help newcomers navigate American institutions successfully?

We can do all of these things while still maintaining secure borders and enforcing immigration laws.

Humane immigration enforcement is possible. Immigration reform that strengthens the economy, protects constitutional rights, and preserves human dignity is also possible.

I believe this is what you want for your children and grandchildren, because I know your hearts. You are my family and my friends.

I ask you: Will you meet me outside the echo chamber? Let’s talk.