Stephen Miller approved these messages:
"In the first 100 days of the Trump admin, ICE averaged 665 arrests a day," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. "3,000 a day, a 450 percent increase, is an INSANE number for them to demand now; genuinely, truly, the stuff of madness."
"Keep in mind that the 665 arrests a day that ICE averaged in the first 100 days came AFTER they already deputized thousands of other federal LEOs to carry out immigration arrests, including FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS, USPIS, and more," Reichlin-Melnick added. "There's no possible way this happens. But the chaos will get worse."
Immigration officers have almost 49,000 people in ICE custody, which is far higher than Congress has approved funding to accommodate, and even as the Trump administration carries out a series of controversial deportation flights to other nations, the total number of people who have been deported are about the same as it was during president Joe Biden's last year in office.
"Many more mistakes will be made, some deadly, all with the potential to destroy the lives and livelihoods of thousands of immigrants who have followed all the rules," said labor lawyer Katelyn Oldham.
"The only way to reach these numbers is to essentially turn America into a immigration police state," added the widely followed "Sharon" account.
"I think a lot about what post-Trump justice and reconstruction might look like," posted blogger Craig Calcaterra. "It changes frequently given how much changes in the moment. The only real constant of it is that every version of it features Stephen Miller getting dragged through the streets in chains."
I was wondering about the numbers. A 450% increase can only mean pulling random people off the streets (oh, wait!....); well, in even greater numbers. There aren't 3000 people a day worthy of ICE detention, much less immediate deportation (which itself is highly unconstitutional as well as blatantly illegal).
But, you know, Joe Biden was old, and Jake Tapper has the scandal!
ICE is arresting people at their immigration hearings, people with no problems or issues. I would guess ICE agents are doing this just to make the lower numbers. The warped thought process is probably, I make my number and when they are released later because they shouldn't have been arrested, that is someone else's problem. But of course these people aren't being released, and they are a vulnerable population that often lacks the legal savvy and access, financial wherewithal and language skills to defend themselves from improper deportation. It can only get worse, worse violations of rights, worse treatment, and even citizens being swept up in the process. The legal response by individual judges, even well meaning and in good faith, dealing with individual cases is totally inadequate to stop such a gross and reckless process being manipulated by a bad faith government. I've lost all faith SCOTUS will step in a meaningful way to enforce the law in a way that is an adequate response (I can well see a decision on nationwide bans going the wrong way, and the court declaring acts illegal but saying the court can provide no remedy, it's a political question.).
ReplyDeleteSadly: yes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope seminary studies are going well!
ReplyDeleteI'll find time to write a longer comment this weekend, but for now my studies are going very well. I really feel like a seminarian and all that it means. I also just was elected to the Student Leadership Collective (think student council, running for student council st near 60 was not on my life bingo card) and will be on the committee that reviews curriculum. I also just submitted my application to our local UCC conference to become a member in discernment. Lots going on!
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