They walk among us, cloaked not in uniforms or flags, but in the quiet conviction that cruelty is justified when wrapped in legality. They speak of borders and laws, of order and safety, but beneath their rhetoric lies the same cold impulse that once led others to knock on doors and whisper names to authorities. The same impulse that turned neighbors into informants, that hunted the desperate through forests and fields, that watched suffering unfold and called it justice.

Today, they chase the undocumented — not with chains, but with paperwork, raids, and threats. They do not see families, only trespassers. They do not hear stories, only accents. And in their pursuit, they echo the footsteps of those who once turned in Jews hiding in attics, or enslaved souls fleeing toward freedom. The eras change, but the essence remains: a heart hardened against empathy, a mind closed to nuance, a spirit bent toward domination.

They are not protectors. They are not patriots. They are the same kinds of people who, in every age, choose the side of power over the side of humanity. Immoral. Cowardly. Sadistic. Cruel. Racist. Bullies.

But history remembers. It remembers the persecutors — and it remembers the brave. And one day, when the dust settles and the truth is no longer inconvenient, it will ask: which side were you on?

©️ Beatriz Esmer