Protecting the vulnerable among us should be considered a privilege, and one I hope our community continues to embrace, especially as it relates to our immigrant population. Those that remain silent in the enactment of today’s immigration policy are assumed to be in favor of Gestapo methodology.

Men and women are being kidnapped off the streets by heavily armed operatives wearing masks who refuse to identify themselves and who often use unnecessary force. Due process has been suspended. Instead of presumed innocent, individuals are presumed guilty as demonstrated in the mistaken arrest of U.S. citizen Leonardo Garcia Venegas.

Our empathy, compassion and support is ideally for men, women and children who have tried to find a legal path to citizenship, who pay taxes, and show up for court hearings, only to be carted away as they try to do the right thing.

ICE is not just arresting those with outstanding warrants, as in the case of high school student Marcelo Gomes Da Silva on his way to a volleyball competition with his teammates.

Regardless of where you stand on immigration, if you have a law-abiding and human heart, never mind an understanding of the rights provided by our constitution, your option and time to remain quiet is over. It is the responsibility of every citizen to speak out against this misuse of power.

For those of you tempted to write letters supporting today’s immigration policy that begin “But Joe Biden or Barack Obama….” I suggest you remember something your mother may have said when you were a child “Two wrongs do not make a right.” We are here now. We must revisit the mistakes of the past, but doing so today as an excuse for today’s cruel policy is a diversion tactic.

Our immigrant population makes up a valuable part of our workforce, building homes, repairing roads, providing cleaning services, checking us out at the supermarket, picking our fruit and vegetables. Our immigrant population is a part of what makes America function, makes America diverse. We all benefit from individuals trying to improve their lives.

Many years ago, I attended night classes at Framingham State College in Massachusetts. My classmates were proud to be there and included women trying to improve their lives and get off welfare, immigrants from other countries offering a diverse experience I benefited from.

These people taught me to be grateful for opportunities I had taken for granted. I have no doubt that their presence opened my mind in a way that continues to enrich my perspective to this day.

Immigration may need reform, but what is happening today is not reform, it is a form of ethnic cleansing via illegal abduction. Agents mask their faces, do not produce warrants and refuse to identify themselves. We must do better than this.

I know of no religion or free society that states: Abandon the needy, do not help the stranger, persecute those who are different, ignore the cries of children, harm the innocent.

We are the United States of America, not Germany in the 1930s, Turkey, China, North Korea or Russia. We are not perfect; our history has missteps that should advise what to avoid in the future. We are a nation of diverse individuals who when united create a beautiful tapestry. We are not a nation of fear and anger, despite today’s intolerance flamed by men and women hungry only for power; who only feel big when they make others feel small.

If you are an American, and especially if you are a spiritual human being, it is your duty to stand against injustice to anyone. Especially those among us who are the most vulnerable. Empathy, compassion, courage. The world could use more of that today.

Robin Salcido is a writer and artist who resides in Louisville and who has just published her first book of poetry “Wonder: A Garden Journal” available now at Boulder Book Store.