Your questions have continued to come in, so I think it’s only fair that I hit y’all with another “Mail Call.” Without your undying support and loyal readership, “On the Fence Line” could not be possible. So thank you to all our readers, and I hope y’all enjoy the stories from inside as much as all of us appreciate you.
It’s no secret, the world is a crazy place right now. We got I.C.E. agents terrorizing our community and targeting our people, American citizens being murdered on city streets by these same masked agents, and a president and his whole administration willing to bet that you’d believe their lies rather than your own eyes.
Just the other day, I woke up to footage of federal agents pumping bullets into Alex Pretti. All this just shortly after Renee Good was also shot and killed by federal agents, and another American shot and wounded. Guess by who!
Look y’all, there isn’t much I can say that y’all aren’t already feeling. So I’m gonna let Mail Call do what it does. However, I wanna send all my love to my older brother Sambath “Temp” Loeung, who as of this writing, is sitting in a detention center awaiting his deportation to Cambodia. I don’t know when our paths will cross again, but I love you, big bro! On the set… it’s on!
For Mail Call #5, the guys on the fence line answer a reader question that’s bound to stir our pot of pho: We’ve all seen the footage of Renee Good being shot and killed. What are your thoughts on what happened? And how do you feel about the recent I.C.E. operations in our community?
I hope y’all enjoy, and as always…
Free Palestine! Until next time… keep dreaming!
(Many of the responses below were given BEFORE Alex Pretti was shot and killed.)
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“The death of Renee Good was a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. We trust the government to protect us from harm, not to be the cause and problem. Watching the video of Renee, and trying to wrap my thoughts around what led to her death, made me feel disgusted at what America has become. As a noncitizen of this country, a Residential Alien with an A number, and a Green Card holder, I understand firsthand of what the fear of I.C.E. is. Because at the age of 18, America deemed me a terrorist threat against the country. I was convicted of drugs and possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 6 and a half years in prison. During my incarceration, I had an I.C.E. hold placed on me. After serving my full sentence, I was handed over to I.C.E. and I was misled to believe that if I, along with dozens of other Asians, filed a Habeas Corpus and signed a paper that none of us were familiar with, we would be released ASAP. Wanting our freedom from the indefinite sentence, we agreed to file and sign the paper, not knowing that later down the line we were going to be hunted down by I.C.E. and deported. I’m currently incarcerated, so my day for deportation won’t happen until my release in 2036. Having an older brother that was already deported May of last year and a younger brother with a removal order if caught scares me. My older brother was lucky, and not because he was deported, but because he was handed off to I.C.E. peacefully. I’m scared for my little brother because of how I.C.E. is snatching people up and jumping out of cars. Who’s to say how my little brother would react and what outcome could result from that situation. My siblings and I have been in America since 1979. We were children forced out of our country because of a war. America is all that we know, so the fear is real. So how do I feel about I.C.E. and what they are doing in our community? My first thought is: FUCK THEM! Fuck them for putting fear in our communities and homes. Fuck them for deporting my older brother and making him leave a 2-year old baby behind. I understand that life ain’t fair and that we are responsible for our own decisions, but for us Green Card holders, our lives are one mistake away from getting removed from the only place we call home. And from the bottom of my heart, my sincere condolences go to Renee Good’s family. Thank you Renee Good for standing up and fighting for those that are scared to fight on the front lines because of I.C.E.. Before I go, I want to tell all my ex Green Card holders this message: Stack your money, keep your hands in plain sight, and spend as much time as you can with your loved ones. Take care and be safe out there.”
—Sambo “Short” Moeun #712764. 21 years served. Earliest release: 2036.
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“As I look at I.C.E. and its agents in the United States, I can’t help but see America’s ugly history roaring its head. The same tactics that I.C.E. are using today are the same tactics that were used against Black people in the slavery days. Slave catchers would say to a Black man, ‘let me see yo papers boy.’ And once that Black person produced the papers, stating that he or she were ‘free,’ they were still rounded up like cattle and made slaves.
Slaves are a commodity. Back in the slavery days, they would capture the person of color and force them into labor. They separated them from their families and forced them to submit to the slave owner and their views. And if anyone had anything to say about it, then they would try to mash them too.
Well, guess what, this hate and ideology still exist today. Immigrants are being snatched from their families. Human beings that don’t look like them are being killed. And if another White person stands up against this injustice, they will be arrested or killed, as well. Shame on America, the land of the FREE. I.C.E. has to capture more immigrants because slaves are a commodity. (*slavery is permitted under the 13th amendment)”
—Steven Marshall #395661. 12 years served. Earliest release: 3/9/2049.
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“Morally? I believe the I.C.E. officer is guilty of Manslaughter. He could have moved aside, and it was clear the Renee Good was attempting to flee by turning away from the officer. Her ‘obstruction,’ ‘agitation,’ or any other ‘ya, but’ the Trump administration may offer seeks to bury the facts of the video footage. Legally? With qualified immunity, the officer merely has to ‘fear’ for his life — a subjective term/feeling, potentially placing this situation in the ‘lawful but awful’ realm.
The situation with Mr. Pretti may be equally as awful. The video footage shows him directing traffic and trying to assist other protesters shoved to the ice by I.C.E. A clear contrast to the public accusation from Noem and Trump that he was there to harm law enforcement and cause Maximum damage. Sadly, even as he lawfully carried a firearm, an unprovoked scuffle with multiple agents ends in his murder. Why? He had a gun, and agents ‘feared for their lives.’
The 5-year old boy’s father does not appear to be a ‘worst of the worst’ candidate. Whatever the full facts are, the optics certainly are not in the Trump administrations favor. To that point rests my entire message to the resistance, as well as those who support the Trump policies and tactics. Optics, not facts, are what moves public opinion and support. This sentiment translates into votes.
With this in mind, state and local officials should be careful in their rhetoric. Protests must not erupt into riots. And storming houses of worship is never winning tactic. Invigorating a party’s base is often at odds with winning the hearts and minds of the general public.”
—Aaron Edward Olson #327076. 20 years served. Earliest release: 2054.
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“This is a difficult question for me. Yes, I have seen the footage from multiple different sources and I have also done my own private information-gathering on this subject via the internet and off-brand news outlets. That being said, I don’t feel like I have the right to judge the situation without knowing all of the facts. Was it tragic? Yes. Do I feel like it could have been avoided? Yes. From the looks of the footage we all saw on CNN/FOX News, it looked unjustified. But there are also reports that the I.C.E. agent suffered internal bleeding from the incident. They say that it is up to the agent to make the call to fire their weapon or not, depending on whether or not they feel that their life is in danger. I don’t know if the call was the right one or not. And that agent will have to live with his decision.
As for how I feel about I.C.E. operations in the community, I don’t feel that they are any different than what President Obama did when he was president. They’re just more politicized now due in large part to modern media outlets reporting opinions rather than the news.”
—Dennis Repp #338561. 17 years served. Earliest release: 2032.
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“The tragic shooting that took the life of Renee Good could have been avoided. Citizens of this country should feel safe in our streets and community. Breaking the law to enforce our country’s laws in counterproductive and a violation to our Constitution and rights.”
—Carlos Bernardez #342790. 17 years served. Earliest release: 2040.
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“How do I feel about Renee Good being shot and killed? Hmm. First, I would like to say my heart goes out to her family in their time of loss. I’m an indigenous man, born and raised on the reservation. That being said, I have trust issues with the government and their treaties, policies, and rhetoric. The footage shared to the community is confusing. Before the different footage was shared, there was talk that the I.C.E. agent was ran over and clinging to his life. That turned out to be false. It turned out the agent had experienced a traumatic experience not too long before this incident. Is it ineptitude that the agent was in the field? We will probably never know. I think this could have been avoided. I am suspicious about Proud Boys being hired on to be I.C.E. agents. It bothers me that all I see is people like me be torn from their families and treated like they are deplorable.”
—Moses Beliz #952567. 18 years served. Earliest release: 5/13/2029
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Felix Sitthivong is an incarcerated storyteller, community organizer, and founding member of the Peoples’ Empowerment Assembly for Collective Equity (PEACE). Sitthivong is also the former president and senior advisor for the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Awareness Group (APICAG). He is currently serving a 66-year sentence at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, WA. Reach him with questions for “On the Fence Line” via Securus (WA #354579) or write to him at Felix Sitthivong #354579, PO BOX 900, Shelton, WA 98584.
Felix Sitthivong is an incarcerated storyteller, community organizer, and founding member of the Peoples’ Empowerment Assembly for Collective Equity (PEACE). Sitthivong is also the former president and senior advisor for the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Awareness Group (APICAG). He is currently serving a 66-year sentence at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, WA. Reach him with questions for “On the Fence Line” via Securus (WA #354579) or write to him at Felix Sitthivong #354579, PO BOX 900, Shelton, WA 98584.
