The president of the Federal Law Enforcement
Officers Association has sent a blistering letter to Barack Obama castigating him for a remark he made that the organization
says equates its members with “terrorists.”
Speaking at the National Council of La Raza
convention in San Diego on July 13, Obama told the largely Hispanic audience that the nation’s immigration system "isn't
working." According to Obama, the problem with the system is that "communities are terrorized by ICE [Immigration and Customs
Enforcement] immigration raids" and "nursing mothers are torn from their babies."
The letter from the Association’s
National President Art Gordon states: “On behalf of the 26,000 members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
(FLEOA), I take great exception to your disparaging remark, ‘…communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids.’
“While the dedicated men and women
of ICE endeavor to carry out their dangerous and noble missions, you somehow felt compelled to characterize their efforts
as something akin to terrorizing…
“It’s one thing to remark intelligently
on the need for immigration reform, but it’s quite another to berate ICE law enforcement officers who are risking their
lives to enforce the laws passed by Congress.”
Charging that Obama and his fellow members
of Congress have not passed any “meaningful legislations” on immigration reform, Gordon goes on to say: “Your
bi-partisan fumble should not translate into labeling our members as terrorists by implication…
“ICE employs patriotic men and women
who are outstanding law enforcement officers, not rampaging home-wreckers.”
Gordon concludes by inviting Obama
to meet with FLEOA officers, saying he would come away with an understanding “that those carrying the ICE shield are
heroes, and not terrorists.” | 
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