First of all, those who ordered the deportations are motivated by a racist lie: that brown skinned immigrants are rapists and criminals. This is ironic because the authorities ordering the deportations are themselves sex abusers, rapists and criminals. But the average, say, Mexican immigrant—illegal or legal—is not.

Deportation is an extreme act, not a casual thing. You are forcibly moving a person often into a very dangerous location or situation. In addition, the officials frequently choose to break up family, essentially stealing people’s children.

These are brutal acts. Very brutal acts against usually innocent people.

So yeah. It’s a big deal.