The latest federal enforcement shift — ordering FBI agents to spend a third of their time on immigration cases while scaling back white-collar crime investigations — is being sold as a national security measure. In reality, it’s a bait-and-switch that lets the most damaging crimes in America go unpunished while turning neighbors and co-workers into targets. The Justice Department’s new guidelines deprioritize prosecuting corporate misconduct, public corruption and complex financial fraud. These are the crimes that siphon billions from our economy, destabilize markets and corrode public trust. Instead, resources are flowing into a mass deputization effort, empowering agencies from the IRS to the Postal Inspection Service to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement in sweeping raids. One day-laborer outside a Lowe’s described barely avoiding arrest during a raid — not for committing a crime, but simply for looking for work. His family entered the country legally decades ago, but an administrative error voided their documentation. Now, he’s classified as “illegal” through no fault of his own. Charities report growing fear not just among immigrants, but anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow vision of who “belongs.” This crackdown criminalizes ambition, punishes the very people who keep our communities running, and distracts from crimes of privilege that truly undermine the nation. If the American Dream means anything, it’s the belief that hard work and integrity can build a better life. That dream is not strengthened by persecution — it’s weakened, diminished and, in too many cases, destroyed.
Crag Donovan
Concord, NH