The National Guard vs. ICE: One Protects Our Kids, the Other Terrifies Them

As parents, our first instinct is to protect our children – to keep them safe, secure, and shielded from harm. That includes protecting them from seeing things they should never have to see – like masked men storming neighborhoods, families being torn apart, parents or teachers disappearing without warning. Yet right now, ICE is terrifying our kids, forcing them to see fear and chaos unfold right before their eyes.

Our kids are afraid. They can’t tell the difference between the masked men who traumatize them and the National Guard troops who are there to protect them. Across the country, both have become familiar sights. Yet while the National Guard and ICE both represent the federal government, the reasons they exist– and the way they operate– could not be more different. 

The National Guard, a branch of the U.S.military, is trained to respond to emergencies, natural disasters, and national crises.They are the people who show up when communities are in need of protection and support. From evacuating families in wildfires to delivering food and water after hurricanes, their mission is one of service: protecting lives, keeping families together, and restoring a sense of safety when everything else has been shaken. For our children, their arrival means help is here — uniforms they can trust. 

ICE, on the other hand, has become something very different. Under the Department of Homeland Security, ICE agents are tasked with enforcing immigration laws– but their reach has stretched far beyond the border. ICE agents now enter neighborhoods, workplaces, churches and even schools– often in plain clothes, masked, and heavily armed, ignoring rules, and snatching people off the streets, including U.S. citizens. These were once safe spaces, places where our kids could learn, play, and worship without fear. Now even those spaces feel unsafe. 

Their presence has created fear and uncertainty amongst communities and families across the country. And for our kids, that same image of authority doesn’t bring safety, it brings anxiety. They’ve seen parents detained, teachers taken away in front of them at daycare, families separated, and neighbors disappearing without warning. These are things that no child should ever have to witness, and will be forced to carry with them forever.

While the National Guard exists to protect families, ICE tears them apart. The Guard brings food, medicine, and rescue. ICE brings fear, handcuffs, and heartbreak. One protects our kids. The other terrifies them.