Cruel and usual punishment

Carlos Cardona is free. These words invite hope for a close to the epic drama of President Trump’s mean and destructive drive to eject immigrants long in the U.S. and repel others from arrival. Federal immigration authorities last week freed the Queens dad and construction worker following months in a detention facility, where he’d been held for deportation back to his native Colombia — America’s thanks for searing his lungs with the chemical air as he cleaned up Ground Zero following 9/11.

Intercession by Gov. Cuomo to rid Cardona’s record of an old drug offense paved way for his release (though possible deportation still looms).

Now let’s get real: an immigration dragnet targeting individuals already deemed “removable” by judges is catching folks like Cardona by the thousands, along with the hardened criminals Trump promised the nation’s voters he’d target.

Consequences would grow still fiercer under a bill passed by the House of Representatives last week imposing lengthy prison terms on those caught crossing the border more than once.

The House also pushed to deny federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities like New York which don’t cooperate with immigration authorities — for the sake of engendering immigrants’ trust and resulting public health and safety.

It’s unlikely the Senate will trample on cities’ well-established constitutional rights, leaving House yea-voters to tell their constituents, and Trump, “Hey, we tried.” Meanwhile, the theater of cruelty goes on, one damaged family at a time.