A couple recent episodes of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Picard featured Starfleet crew members traveling back in time to present day to beat up U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, free a busload of illegal immigrants on their way to be deported, and lecture that racism just “took off a hood and put on a suit” in the early 21st Century.
Traveling back to 2024 Earth to help save the future of humanity in season two, episode four of the show, titled The Watcher, the crew specifically heads to downtown Los Angeles to achieve their mission. After Captain Cristobal Rios (Santiago Cabrera) becomes injured, the Hispanic character finds himself at a medical clinic that specializes in treating illegal immigrants and others, like him, who lack identification.
Caught up in an ICE raid on the clinic, Rios is detained and brought to a detention facility to await processing and deportation. When fellow crew mates Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) show up at the medical facility looking for Rios, a nurse tells them: “Yeah, he was here. The doctor patched him up before ICE officers raided us....You know those assholes.” Seven chimes in: “Yeah, I feel like I do.” The nurse ominously adds: “But your friend, I hope you find him soon. Before ICE makes sure you never do.”
Continuing their search for Rios at a nearby LAPD precinct, Raffi yells at an officer: “God dammit, you’re law enforcement for the city, right?! Why else would I be here? Listen, my friend was taken by ICE officers, you must know something. You can’t just kidnap people!”
A man sitting in the waiting area of the police station warns them:
Piece of advice, LAPD won’t have ICE detainees in their system, you want Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Look, you’re in the wrong place. Not that it makes any difference because if you don’t get to Cristobal before he’s transferred, gone. No trial, no paper trail.
The episode cuts to Rios in ICE detention, with him sneering at sign on the wall displaying the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance: “I pledge allegiance to the flag.” He remarks in Spanish to a fellow detainee: “They make you swear allegiance? That is hard core.”
When the fellow detainee, Pedro, is told by one of the ICE agents that he will be placed on a bus for deportation, Rios angrily confronts the officer: “What the hell is wrong with you guys? Slap on a badge, put on a uniform, you think you can treat people this way?” The agent then tases Rios in response.
Leaving the LAPD station, Raffi declares: “We need to find out where they’re disappearing people like him, so we follow the trail of suffering like bread crumbs.” Her and seven proceed to steal a police car to continue their search for Rios. While being chased by the cops, Raffi uses the LAPD vehicle’s computer system to discover: “Shit, Rios’s file just updated, he’s being moved....To a sanctuary district on the border.” Seven frets: “He’s being disappeared. Raffi, if we lose him now.” Raffi tracks his location: “Okay, I found him. He’s on ICE transfer bus number 735, GPS says he’s on Highway 14.”
Repeatedly using the phrase “disappeared” when talking about ICE lawfully deporting illegal immigrants is outrageous. The idea of “disappearing” someone comes from authoritarian regimes that would arrest people and either throw them in prison without charges or, more likely, murder them and depose of the body. It was a tactic commonly used during Argentina’s Dirty War in the 1970s – 30,000 people were victims of the brutal practice.
In the following episode, Fly Me To the Moon, Seven and Raffi manage to track down the Homeland Security bus that Rios has been placed on. They disable it, prompting Rios, with the help of fellow detainee Pedro, to beat up the ICE agents on board. Raffi, Seven, and Rios then proceed to free the whole bus of illegal immigrants, of course without any knowledge of whether any of them were guilty of violent crimes. Rios even congratulates Pedro on landing a “good hit” on one of the now-unconscious ICE agents.
In addition to the subplot smearing ICE as villains, during episode four, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) implores an alien living secretly on Earth at the time, a young Guinan (Ito Aghayere), to help him: “Humankind will change, you must be patient.” Guinan, who is black, launches into a racially-charged rant:
You who has the luxury of patience here? Someone who looks like you and not like me. This world had more potential than I had ever imagined. But the hatred here, it never ends, it just swaps clothes. This century, it took off a hood and put on a suit.
Older Guinan has been played for years by actress and left-wing View co-host Whoopi Goldberg, who actually made a cameo appearance in episode one of season two.
The ultra-woke turn in Star Trek: Picard followed the season four finale of Star Trek: Discovery featuring left-wing Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as the president of “United Earth.”
Star Trek’s effort to villainize U.S. immigration officers and accuse American society of simply trading a “hood” for a “suit” was brought to viewers by Dell. You can fight back by letting this advertiser know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a transcript of excerpts from season two, episode four of Star Trek: Picard, aired on March 24:
The Watcher
(...)
JERI RYAN [SEVEN OF NINE]: We’re looking for our friend. Dark hair, scruffy.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS A [MEDICAL CLINIC NURSE]: Yeah, he was here. The doctor patched him up before ICE officers raided us. They arrested them both, I’m sorry. Look, Theresa’s a citizen, you know, they’ll probably just detain her longer than they should but eventually they throw her back. You know those assholes.
RYAN: Yeah, I feel like I do.
ACTRESS A: But your friend, I hope you find him soon. Before ICE makes sure you never do.(...)
KELLI DAWN HANCOCK [LAPD OFFICER STAUSS]: Crystal Ball, is that like a stage name or something?
MICHELLE HURD [RAFFI MUSIKER]: Cristobal, he was arrested along with a doctor, can’t you find him?
HANCOCK: Look around, I got intake, I got overflow, I got transfers waiting to happen. If they took your friend, he ain’t in the system yet.
HURD: Then where is he?
HANCOCK: Processing, how should I know?
HURD: God dammit, you’re law enforcement for the city, right?! Why else would I be here? Listen, my friend was taken by ICE officers, you must know something. You can’t just kidnap people!
RYAN: Okay, we’re just going to back away from your personal space and wait over there, you are doing a great job. Thank you for serving the public.
HURD: I hate everything.
RYAN: But you hide it so well.
KARL T. WRIGHT [FRANCIS PUGA]: Piece of advice, LAPD won’t have ICE detainees in their system, you want Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Look, you’re in the wrong place. Not that it makes any difference because if you don’t get to Cristobal before he’s transferred, gone. No trial, no paper trail.
SANTIAGO CABRERA [CRISTOBAL RIOS]: “I pledge allegiance to the flag.” [In Spanish] They make you swear allegiance? That is hard core.
PETER LINDSTEDT [ICE OFFICER #1]: You, need your Juan Hancock on these transfer papers. Got a seat bus seat with your name on it.
OSCAR CAMACHO [PEDRO]: [In Spanish] You mean deportation papers. I have the right to an attorney.
LINDSTEDT: Just sign it. You eyeballin’ me asshole?
CABRERA: What the hell is wrong with you guys? Slap on a badge, put on a uniform, you think you can treat people this way? [Gets tased]
(...)
RYAN: What are we doing?
HURD: Finding Rios.
RYAN: In the parking lot?
HURD: We need to find out where they’re disappearing people like him, so we follow the trail of suffering like bread crumbs.
(...)
PATRICK STEWART [JEAN-LUC PICARD]: Humankind will change, you must be patient.
ITO AGHAYERE [YOUNG GUINAN]: You who has the luxury of patience here? Someone who looks like you and not like me. This world had more potential than I had ever imagined. But the hatred here, it never ends, it just swaps clothes. This century, it took off a hood and put on a suit.
You say change is coming? Well, it’s too damn slow and the cost way too high. And being forced to watch it, hurts.
(...)
HURD: Shit, Rios’s file just updated, he’s being moved.
RYAN: What, where?
HURD: To a sanctuary district on the border.
RYAN: He’s being disappeared. Raffi, if we lose him now.
HURD: I know, I know. Dammit, hang on. Okay, I found him. He’s on ICE transfer bus number 735, GPS says he’s on Highway 14.
(...)
