199 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 19 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
General News    H3'ed 3/11/25

Tomgram: Michael Gould-Wartofsky, Setting Up the Machinery of Mass Deportation

By       (Page 6 of 7 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   No comments

Tom Engelhardt
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Tom Engelhardt
Become a Fan
  (29 fans)

ICE agents have already started making arrests of TPS holders in Texas.

17. Undermine the principle of birthright citizenship.

Of all the president's orders, the most consequential for citizens is the one that would rescind birthright citizenship, which would deny the rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to "persons born or naturalized in the U.S."

In practice, it would mean stripping citizenship rights from children born here to mothers who are "unlawfully present" or whose presence is "lawful but temporary."

For now, the order has been blocked by a Seattle judge's injunction, but it will undoubtedly fall to the Supreme Court to decide its fate (and the fate of the Constitution of which it's a part).

18. Investigate citizens who would defend immigrant rights.

As it happens, immigrants and their American-born children are not the only ones in the crosshairs. Federal agents are now actively soliciting bids for "Internet based threat risk mitigation and monitoring services" in order to surveil suspected political enemies on social media.

That initiative is part of what could become a coast-to-coast crackdown. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has, ominously enough, launched a "formal investigation" into a local radio station, the San Francisco-based KCBS 740 AM, for reporting on the whereabouts of ICE agents.

And only recently, Tom Homan, designated the "border czar" by President Trump, invited the Department of Justice to investigate Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), reportedly in retaliation for a "Know Your Rights" training session held under the auspices of her office.

19. Punish "sanctuary" cities, counties, and states.

On Day One of the president's second term, the White House announced that it was going on the warpath against "sanctuary" jurisdictions, where local laws place limits on the involvement of law enforcement in the business of immigration.

Since then, the Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group within the Office of the Associate Attorney General has been engaged in an all-out lawfare campaign against cities, counties, and states suspected of being insufficiently cooperative.

And on February 19th, Trump signed yet another executive order cutting off federal funding for such jurisdictions, so that "federal payments to States and localities do not, by design or effect, abet so-called 'sanctuary' policies."

20. Manipulate the truth.

All the while, the deportation machine's defenders have been seriously manipulating the truth.

First, ICE has turned images of inmates in captivity into a televised spectacle, with federal agents bringing film crews and TV celebrities with them for ride-alongs, even as they covered up evidence of their more controversial tactics.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Tom Engelhardt Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Tom Engelhardt, who runs the Nation Institute's Tomdispatch.com ("a regular antidote to the mainstream media"), is the co-founder of the American Empire Project and, most recently, the author of Mission Unaccomplished: Tomdispatch (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Tomgram: Rajan Menon, A War for the Record Books

Tomgram: Nick Turse, Uncovering the Military's Secret Military

Noam Chomsky: A Rebellious World or a New Dark Age?

Andy Kroll: Flat-Lining the Middle Class

Christian Parenti: Big Storms Require Big Government

Noam Chomsky, Who Owns the World?

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend