28 persons were arrested at the Oriental Pavilion, a nightclub/gang hangout allegedly operating illegally in Asheville, over the weekend. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Buncombe and Henderson county sheriff’s departments collaborated in the raid. Charges range from violent stabbing to possession of narcotics. The diversity of the arrestees is reflected by representation from citizens from five countries (the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) and membership or associate memberships in four gangs (Surenos, Bloods, M Zone Rydas and Sugar Loaf Clique 31).

Meanwhile, Councilman Cecil Bothwell is getting a lot of attention again. This time, he is campaigning to make Asheville a sanctuary city. Bothwell claims the change will cause crime rates to go down. The matter remains politicized through the old routine of tying two unrelated topics together and pretending they’re inseparable. The two unrelated topics would be (1) illegal behavior and (2) race. Once it is established that the police intend to turn citizens of other countries who are committing crimes in this country over to officials of their homeland for processing, there should be no problem.

Paranoiacs should also appreciate the sleight-of-hand that renamed persons violating immigration laws “undocumented,” thereby implicitly suggesting real people don’t go anywhere without their papers.