For Kentavius Jones, executive director of Talbot Mentors, the recent surge of immigration enforcement on the Mid-Shore by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is less about politics than humanity. Week after week, he’s confronted with the fear and disruption these actions bring to the families his organization serves—students coming home to find a parent gone, mentors trying to comfort children left adrift. Known to many simply as KJ, he speaks with quiet urgency about the need for compassion in public policy and a justice system that recognizes people, not just cases.
In our Spy interview, Jones acknowledges that America’s immigration system needs reform. But he argues that tearing apart families who have worked, contributed, and built lives here betrays the nation’s values. The America he knows, he says, is one that offers grace—one that protects rather than punishes those who’ve pursued its promise.
This video is approximately six minutes in length.
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