So let me get this straight. An Egyptian national allegedly firebombed a location in Colorado — as in, set a building on fire with the intent to destroy it and possibly kill people inside — and a federal judge just looked at ICE and said, “Yeah, but you need to release his family.” Not the suspect. His family. The people who were living with the guy who allegedly commits acts of arson on American soil. A judge decided they need to walk free, right now, no questions asked.
Because nothing says “sound judicial reasoning” like springing the relatives of a suspected terrorist back into the community where the suspected terrorism happened. Really inspires confidence. I’m sure the neighbors are thrilled.
Let’s back up for a second and appreciate the full absurdity of what just happened here. ICE — Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency whose entire job is to enforce immigration law — detained the family members of a man suspected of a violent crime. Not jaywalking. Not an expired parking meter. *Firebombing.* The kind of crime that, in a sane country, would have every law enforcement agency within a hundred miles asking very pointed questions about everyone connected to the suspect.
But we don’t live in a sane country anymore. We live in a country where an unelected federal judge can override the professional judgment of law enforcement officers, wave a magic gavel, and decide that the family of an alleged firebomber poses no concern whatsoever to public safety.
Here’s what kills me. You and I both know that if you or I were suspected of firebombing something — God forbid — every person we’ve ever shared a Thanksgiving dinner with would be getting a knock on their door. The FBI would be going through our second cousin’s Instagram. They’d be pulling phone records from our dentist. That’s how it works when normal Americans are suspected of crimes.
But when it’s an Egyptian national here under questionable immigration status? When it’s someone who allegedly tried to burn down a building in Colorado? Oh, well, we can’t inconvenience the family. That would be *mean.*
The judge’s logic — and I’m using that word very loosely — essentially boils down to the idea that family members shouldn’t be punished for the actions of a relative. And on its face, sure, that sounds reasonable. Nobody wants to live in a country where you get locked up because your uncle did something stupid.
But here’s the thing the judge conveniently ignores: ICE isn’t “punishing” anyone. ICE is doing its job. If these family members are in the country legally, with valid status, with no immigration violations, then fine — make that case. But that’s not what happened here. What happened is a judge decided that enforcing immigration law against the family of a suspected violent criminal is somehow unjust. That the optics of detaining a firebomber’s relatives are worse than the reality of releasing them.
And that tells you everything you need to know about where our judiciary’s priorities are.
Think about it from the perspective of the people in that Colorado community. Someone allegedly firebombed a building near where they live. The suspect’s family was detained by ICE — and for a brief, shining moment, the system appeared to be working. Law enforcement was taking the situation seriously. They were investigating. They were making sure there wasn’t a broader threat.
Then a judge stepped in and said, “Nah. Let them go.”
The firebombing suspect’s family gets to stay. Your family gets to wonder when the next one happens. That’s the deal. That’s the arrangement our judicial system has decided on without asking you.
This is the same judiciary, by the way, that had no problem throwing the book at grandmothers praying outside abortion clinics. The same system that treated January 6th misdemeanor trespassers like they stormed Normandy in the wrong direction. But a suspected firebomber’s family? Easy now, let’s not overreact.
The double standard isn’t even hidden anymore. They’re not even pretending. If you’re an American citizen who votes the wrong way, the full weight of federal law enforcement lands on your neck. If you’re connected to an alleged act of political violence but you check the right demographic boxes, a federal judge will personally hold the door open for you on your way out of detention.
We’ve built an immigration enforcement system and then hired judges whose sole purpose is to prevent it from functioning. It’s like buying a guard dog and then muzzling it every time someone breaks into your house. What exactly is the point?
The point, of course, is that certain judges don’t believe immigration enforcement should exist at all. They view every ICE detention as an injustice, every deportation as cruelty, and every border enforcement action as something to be blocked, delayed, or reversed. The firebombing angle doesn’t change their calculus one bit. The violence is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that ICE tried to do its job — and that simply cannot be allowed.
So here we are. A suspected firebomber’s family walks free on a judge’s order. ICE agents who risked their safety to make the arrests get to write up the paperwork releasing the people they just detained. And somewhere in Colorado, the neighbors of a firebombing are being told, in no uncertain terms, that the courts care more about immigration activists’ feelings than their safety.
Welcome to America’s judiciary. Where firebombing is apparently not enough to keep the system on your side.