David Arbeitman: Mass deportations means police state

Donald Trump promises to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, mostly Latinos who arrived from Mexico and Central America, if he were to return to the White House.

No doubt, this will involve police and military stopping Latinos on the street or showing up at their workplaces or churches and making them show identification. The police or immigration agents will probably require that they show a birth certificate, green card or passport. Even if they were born here or immigrated legally, don’t be surprised if citizens who supposedly look Latino are stopped several times a week. And without proper identification on them, they could be deported.

While fulfilling his threat to deport 11 million immigrants, children who were born here could be separated from their parents. Trump has also vowed to deport thousands of Haitians from Springfield, Ohio and Venezuelans from Aurora, Colorado, knowing they are here legally. Such a mass deportation, not seen since Hitler’s Germany when the Jews were deported to death camps, will require that our country turn into a police state.

Although some do not take Trump’s threat seriously, in this case, we should take him at his word. Now is the time to use our votes and political activism to influence voters in swing states to make sure this terrible injustice does not happen.

David Arbeitman

Florence