Following the damning lies by the Trump administration immediately after the horrific murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, longtime columnist George F. Will, said this of ICE: “Today, it is more than prudent, it is good citizenship to assume that everything ICE says, and everything the administration says in support of its deportation mania, is untrue until proved to be otherwise.”

Let that sink in. Here’s a leading conservative columnist telling Americans to assume the Trump administration is lying to them on each and every ICE-related incident, unless proven differently.

He can confidently say that because the facts bear him out.

In Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City, Denver, New Orleans, and other cities where ICE has intervened, their claims of acting within the law are frequently challenged by video evidence that tells a different story. The evidence shows ICE agents have often been deliberately provocative and overly aggressive when confronting protesters or when being videoed by American citizens. Tear gas has routinely been lobbed at peaceful protestors, ICE agents use chemical sprays on citizens without cause — sometimes just inches from their faces and often after being knocked down to the ground by masked ICE agents.

Visions of Nazi Germany leap to mind for good reason: white supremacist songs, deliberate modeling of attire to mimic the Nazi’s of that infamous period, and language lifted from Nazi propaganda are reflected in the speech used by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Customs and Border Patrol head Greg Bovino, Stephen Miller, Vice-President J.D. Vance and others within the administration. They are lockstep with Trump’s authoritarian push.

Make no mistake that Pretti’s killing, like Good’s, was cold-blooded murder by ICE agents encouraged to use excessive force without fear of retribution. These ICE agents are unpatriotic goons trained not to protect Americans, but to threaten and intimidate.

No surprise it was Stephen Miller, the mastermind of President Trump’s hardline immigration policy, who initially called Mr. Pretti a “terrorist” and told other administration officials, including Noem, to call him an “assassin” — deliberate lies to deceive while celebrating the villians.

While Democrats and others have been trying to tell America what ICE has become over the past couple of months, Pretti’s murder broke through the political blindfolds and grabbed the nation’s attention.

Even Chris Madel, the Republican lawyer who had represented the ICE officer who killed Renee Good on Jan. 7 and had filed as a Republican in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, pulled out of the race this Monday calling Trump’s immigration operation an “unmitigated disaster.”

“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Madel said. “Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”

He explained that U.S. citizens in Minnesota “particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship,” he said incredulously. “That’s wrong,” adding it was also wrong to “raid homes” of citizens without proper warrants.

Vermont’s congressional delegation was outraged. Sen. Peter Welch called it a “shocking murder” and labeled ICE “an agency that has become a paramilitary force terrorizing American communities.” Sen. Bernie Sanders also called for ICE to be withdrawn immediately from Minneapolis and other US cities. Rep. Becca Balint said she was “full of rage, disgust and heartache. This man was executed at point blank range. The evidence in the videos is much stronger than their fascist lies. What will it take for Americans to admit our own government will kill us and lie about it?”

**********

In a front-page story in today’s Addison Independent, reporter John Flowers interviewed the Rev. Elizabeth Gleich, associate pastor of the Congregational Church of Middlebury, about her trip to Minneapolis with 10 other members of Vermont’s clergy. In her telling, Somalis protected status is being threatened or taken away. “They are being abducted from their homes, schools, cars and hospital beds,” she said of the constant threat, then reflected on the strong Minnesotan community that provides hope and security, including parents and neighbors forming circles around immigrant school children while waiting for the bus.

“It was like the two sides of a coin,” Gleich said. “There was the heartbreaking evil that’s happening at the hands of ICE, but also this really beautiful, resilient, convicted group of people — thousands of Minnesotans who are determined to keep each other safe.”

Gleich said her visit to Minnesota helped her understand what’s needed before ICE comes to Vermont.

“What I kept hearing is that symbols and rituals are important, but they’re no longer enough to resist the violence that’s happening. Symbols now have to be connected to non-cooperation and non-violent direct action.”

This Thursday at 12:30 p.m., Molly Gray, former Lt. Gov. of Vermont and a candidate for that office in the 2026 election, is hosting a video information session on how to interact with ICE peacefully and effectively, if and when they come to Vermont. The public briefing is for “volunteers, allies and the general public on ways to support refugees and immigrants in Vermont.” The session will be via Zoom and attendees are asked to register for a link to participate at https://bit.ly/3Mcv9kT.

**********

As a final note, on Wednesday, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York laid out demands for changes in ICE operations to secure Democratic support to finance the government or face another shutdown. Democrats are asking the bare minimum: roving patrols to end; unmask ICE and CBP agents; and observe conventional law enforcement standards on the use of force, as well as having the agents carry proper identification so they can be held accountable. Hopefully Democrats will hold firm.

Even so, Trump and his group of “louts,” as George Wills calls them, have told too many lies, too often, to regain any pubic trust. The outcome will likely be an indelible stain on the GOP, that is, if Americans can learn to distinguish fact from fiction in this age of deliberate misinformation.

Angelo Lynn