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In the American experiment, there has always been a tension between the laws of the land and the values of the heart. But we are witnessing a shift that should alarm every citizen, regardless of their politics. We are moving from a nation that regulates conduct to one that regulates belonging.

We see this most violently in the conduct of federal immigration agents. In recent weeks, the shadow of federal enforcement has stretched across Ohio, with agents empowered to conduct raids that feel less like law enforcement and more like neighborhood erasure. Most chilling is the escalation of force.

We are seeing a move toward using lethal authority in administrative civil enforcement — an act that was once unthinkable. When the state grants agents the power to use deadly force against those whose only “crime” is the desire to exist within our borders, we have slipped into a reality where the “right to be” is treated as a capital offense. This is not localized issue of concern for residents of Cleveland or Springfield or Yellow Springs, Ohio. It is a national crisis of identity.

We see the same pattern in the highest court of our land. As the Supreme Court hears arguments concerning the rights of transgender girls and women to be athletes, the rhetoric often centers on “fairness.” But we must distinguish between regulating athlete conduct and regulating belonging.

In sports, we have long regulated conduct — anti-doping rules, for example, ensure fair play by controlling what an athlete takes or does. But the current arguments before the Court seek to regulate identity — who an athlete is. When we move from policing behavior to policing category placement, we are no longer talking about the “time on a race.” We are talking about whether a girl is allowed to belong to their own peer group. By holding rigid, categorical definitions higher than the human need to belong, the Court risks affirming that some children are simply “out of bounds” by nature of their existence.

Whether it is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent at a door in Springfield or a legal ruling on a starting line, the message is the same: You do not fit our definition of a neighbor. This is totally unacceptable behavior for a nation that calls itself “The People.” When the government begins to use its power to decide who is “human enough” to belong — whether based on the papers they carry or the body they were born into — the United States we believe in is slipping out of our hands.

We must stand tall and clear. We must emphasize that belonging is the fundamental unit of a healthy society. We must resist the urge to sit back and watch as our neighbors are pushed aside. If we do not stand up for the undocumented father in Springfield or the transgender girl in our classrooms, we are tacitly agreeing that belonging is a privilege to be granted by the state, rather than a right inherent to our humanity.

Now is the time to join our voices. Not because it is easy, but because the alternative is a world where none of us truly belong.