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Juan Aguado Guerrero’s recent letter (in the Fayette County Record) regarding the ICE operation in La Grange is a masterclass in deflecting accountability. While one can sympathize with the emotional toll of seeing a family member arrested, Mr. Guerrero’s attempt to justify his father’s 20-year violation of federal immigration law relies on a fundamental misunderstanding of how a sovereign nation operates.
Mr. Guerrero asks if we believe the people cutting our grass and cleaning our homes are unworthy of liberties. He misses the point entirely. The issue is not about the value of an individual’s character or their work ethic; it is about the consistent application of the rule of law. When you choose to reside in a country illegally for two decades, you assume the constant, daily risk of federal enforcement.
He attempts to shift the blame to the employers who “exploit” undocumented labor to line their pockets. On this point, he is absolutely right—employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers to cut costs and suppress local wages should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But the employer’s guilt does not erase the guilt of the individual who bypassed our legal immigration system. Accountability applies to everyone breaking the law, not just the party you dislike the most.
Furthermore, his criticism of federal agents is misguided. When ICE conducts an operation—especially in a community still reeling from the tragic murder of Viviana Ortiz- Zuniga—they enforce the statutes passed by our elected representatives. If an individual is caught in that net because they are here unlawfully, that is the consequence of their own choices, not a rogue action by law enforcement.
A community cannot survive if we pick and choose which laws we enforce based on how sympathetic the violator is. True justice— whether we demand it from massive state agencies polluting our water or from individuals residing here illegally—requires one absolute standard: the law must be enforced equally for everyone.
Jerry Moerbe of Nelsonville
