This song was inspired by these articles:
Troops, terror and tears in Los Angeles as Ice raids show no sign of slowing
‘Reality TV spectacle’: outrage as federal agents raid LA neighborhood with horses and armored cars
An Upstate NY village gets a surprise visit from ICE: Why would they come for Mr. Zhang?
In Worthington, fear becomes a fixture of immigrant lives as feds crack down
Lyrics
At MacArthur Park on a summer dawn,
Armored cars, agents on horseback drawn,
Marched in swiftly as a menacing horde,
Joyful play shattered as commands roared.
Children scattered, the line advanced,
Life, liberty, happiness left to chance.
A show of force to shatter the peace,
Granting terror its ironclad lease.
No warrantless abductions in plain sight,
We will not bow to faceless might—
By law, by right, by public view,
ICE, show your face, we see through you.
Hear our call, hear our demand,
Due process first, in every land.
Mr. Zhang, whose restaurant is a beacon bright,
Fed hungry souls from dawn through every night.
A neighbor whose laugh warmed every seat,
His China Moon a hearth on a Camden Street.
At first light blacked-out vans silently arrive,
Secret agents moved in stealth to deprive
His family of a father’s guiding light,
Rob this town of its beacon in the night.
No abductions in plain sight,
We will not bow to faceless might—
By law, by right, by public view,
ICE, show your face, we see through you.
Hear our call, hear our demand,
Due process first, in every land.
Sweet Katie’s fifth birthday locked indoors,
As word spread of raids on factory floors.
Father’s work boots unworn beyond those doors,
And hearts stop cold at each passing car’s roar.
Assembly lines stand silent at morning’s break,
Empty chairs a symbol of family heartache.
A town once humming with sweat and pride,
Now cowers in panic and fear spread wide.
No abductions in plain sight,
We will not bow to faceless might—
By law, by right, by public view,
ICE, show your face, we see through you.
Hear our call, hear our demand,
Due process first, in every land.
Wer bist du? So nenn’ dein’ Namen.
Who are you? Declare your name.
From Berlin’s walls to borderlands—
We rise for truth, we join hands.
No abductions in plain sight,
We will not bow to faceless might—
By law, by right, by public view,
ICE, show your face, we see through you.
Hear our call, hear our demand,
Due process first, in every land.