The Colombian congresswoman Ángela Vergara posted a dramatic video to highlight the ordeal of her 22-year-old son, Rafael Alonso, in the United States: ICE agents had arrested him in broad daylight, and he had spent “eighteen days imprisoned, chained, under inhumane conditions.” The mother asserted that her son had not committed a traffic violation; he wasn’t “an undocumented immigrant,” he held a work permit and health insurance, and a residency hearing had been scheduled for 2028 to decide his status in the country.
On social media, Vergara, a congresswoman from the Conservative Party, was mocked for messages she had circulated months earlier in defense of Trump and what she called “order.” I was relieved when that racist police force finally released her son — through the direct mediation of the Colombian Foreign Ministry — and I hope from now on they allow him to live in peace. Now we take a step further: even if her son had not benefited from that privileged diplomatic protection, even if he had been an undocumented immigrant, even if he had committed a crime, he would not have deserved such treatment either. Anyone defends the rights of the innocent, surely; the key is to defend the rights of all people, including the accused, including those found guilty, who do not deserve to be caged, mistreated, or deported to a jail in any country to rot without guarantees. It would be prudent to defend the basic rights of all people for pure justice and also for self-interest: if we do not raise alarms when the rights of a guilty person are violated, they will be violated when the rights of an innocent person are violated, and it will be too late.