Trumps first war is here at home: A military-style assault on undocumented immigrants

[rug]

After deporting his first Dreamer, Trump has unleashed Jeff Sessions to wage a military campaign on our streets



THURSDAY, APR 20, 2017 12:00 PM EDT
HEATHER DIGBY PARTON

Whenever you get depressed or agitated over the dark turn America has taken, remember that President Donald Trump has a big heart. He told us so over and over again. Sure, he may have denied health care to his infant nephew in order to punish his brother’s family for protesting having been written out of the will, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. As he said at that first wacky solo press conference as president when asked what will happen to the Dreamers and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, he loves kids:

We’re going to show great heart. DACA a very difficult subject for me. To me, it’s one of the most difficult subjects. You have incredible kids, in many cases, not all cases. In some of the cases, they are gang members and drug dealers, too. But you have some absolutely incredible kids. I would say mostly. They were brought here in such a way — it’s a very, very tough subject. We are going to deal with DACA with heart. I have to deal with a lot of politicians, don’t forget, and I have to convince them what I’m saying is right. I appreciate your understanding on that, but the DACA situation is a very, very — it’s a very difficult thing for me because, you know, I love these kids. I love kids. I have kids and grandkids.

He told ABC’s David Muir that Dreamers “shouldn’t be very worried” because he was “going to take care of everyone.”

Well, on Tuesday USA Today reported that the administration had deported its first Dreamer, a young man named Juan Manuel Montes, for the crime of not having his wallet on him when he was detained by police. Conservatives were quick to point out that he had a record of shoplifting and driving without a license, and claimed it was perfectly reasonable to hold immigrant kids to a standard of perfection.

Meanwhile, MSNBC inexplicably decided it would be a good idea to do a live “ride along” with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on a morning raid in Los Angeles. The reporter looked into the camera in the back seat and explained in a near whisper, “We are basically on a stakeout. We are waiting for a target to come out of his home. And enforcement removal agents are going to swoop in and they are going to arrest him. We have seen two of those happen so far today.”

It was all very exciting. It was also somewhat of a lovefest, with the agent explaining that sanctuary cities are a “roadblock” to public safety and that nothing had really changed, except that the previous administration had forced officials to concentrate on “certain” criminals. Now they’re able to concentrate on a “broader spectrum” of criminals, which he explained would encompass all undocumented immigrants since it’s a crime to enter the country illegally. He seemed nice.

http://www.salon.com/2017/04/20/trumps-first-war-is-here-at-home-a-military-style-assault-on-undocumented-immigrants/