Letter from Boyd Richards

Note to Trump: ICE, Be Not Proud

“I am embarrassed to call myself an American.”

I spontaneously—yet with deep conviction—said these words a month ago, as I was leaving the ICE check-in center outside of Albany. An hour earlier, I had entered the facility with Pedro Mieles, a close friend, and a hard-working, law abiding, contributing member of the Cooperstown’s community.

For months, my wife and I had the privilege of giving Pedro a ride to church every Sunday morning to attend the Oneonta Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During these rides, I learned about Pedro’s kids and how much he missed them; I learned that Pedro had come to the U.S. a year ago to seek asylum, as a last resort, to escape criminals who had over several months made multiple attempts on his life after he had witnessed them murder his friend.