Hear what they say and don’t say

You might call it performative.

Or lip service. Or even an empty promise.

You could also call it a good faith gesture. A sign of accountability. A promise.

But at least you can call it something.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in July signed an executive order reaffirming the city’s support of the immigrant community. The gesture came in response to increasingly heavy-handed tactics used by federal authorities ambushing working class communities during their immigration raids.

“We are a proud city of immigrants, and with the Trump Administration signaling that they will ratchet up their chaotic approach, I’m making sure we deploy every resource and tool available within the City to ensure that we are supporting immigrant communities,” said Bass said in a statement.

Earlier this summer, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued a response to Immigration and Custome Enforcement agents’ storming of a South Park neighborhood while apprehending a restaurant worker.

“What we saw undermines trust and creates fear in our community. I raised these concerns and my strong objections directly with Homeland Security Investigations leadership… I will continue to advocate for the respect, dignity, rights, and security of everyone in our city.”

Following the arrest last week of a parent near Enrique Camarena elementary school in Chula Vista, Mayor John McCann said…Well, if he has said anything I haven’t seen or heard trace of it.

To be fair, however, during his run for County Supervisor McCann took the noteworthy stance of opposing violent immigrant criminals on city streets.

But last week’s arrest wasn’t a blow against violent crime. It was the takedown of a mother who had overstayed her visa, according to KPBS News.

That’s a civil offense, not criminal.

With each passing day, through deed, word or silence, it becomes clearer who is aligning themselves with heavy-handed authoritarians tearing apart communities and who is lining up on the right side of history, standing with men, women and children whose only offense is living in this country without the proper paperwork while they go about their unassuming lives.