Some might have called it a stunt, but it was in the time-honored tradition of civil disobedience, refusing to submit to a wrong, and confronting evil.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s arrest on Tuesday for interfering with federal immigration officers may have been technically justified, but it is he — and people like him — who hold the higher moral ground.
Mr. Lander was detained at a Manhattan immigration court for linking arms with a man whom Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wanted to take into custody. Yet in doing so in full view of cameras, Mr. Lander has drawn attention to the improper way that suspected undocumented immigrants have been forced into deportation queues — without the hearings that several federal courts have said they must be granted.
Speaking after Mr. Lander’s release from custody, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul noted that the state would provide up to $50 million for legal services for noncitizens swept up in the purges. For this, Ms. Hochul will undoubtedly be labeled as a communist or traitor or worse by some on the right, but it is she who is standing up for the rule of law, demanding an end to the expedited deportation proceedings without hearings taking place within her state.
Mr. Lander’s, in effect, was a nonviolent protest against an illegal and unjust procedure. He, other leading Democrats, and ordinary people across the country have sought to block ICE enforcement. Their goal, at a minimum, is to demand that the government respect constitutionally protected due process. They and other Americans of good conscience are trying to guarantee that the law is upheld, not thwart it.