Under President Trump and HHS Secretary Noem, America has become a hostile land for most immigrants
From the early days of our country, it has been a time-honored cliche that we are “a nation of immigrants.”
Our first president, George Washington, proclaimed that “(the) bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions.” This magnanimous spirit was echoed by John F. Kennedy, who asserted that “(everywhere) immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.”
Like many residents of Massachusetts, Kennedy’s family immigrated from Ireland in search of a better life. His enthusiasm might not be shared by descendants of America’s original inhabitants, who were the victims of genocide, and suppression of their Native languages and culture, as they were confined to remote reservations and educated in harsh boarding schools. For the dominant Caucasian culture, the “nation of immigrants” narrative has generally been accepted without question.
Donald Trump’s second administration is promoting a different view. The “big, beautiful wall” that has been partially constructed along the Mexican border is now being painted black, so it will be hotter to the touch and prospective refugees who attempt to climb it will be more visible. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is rapidly expanding into a masked, oppressive behemoth, with a projected workforce at least double the size of the FBI.
In her early days as Secretary, Noem celebrated the rounding up off “dirtbags” off the streets of New York, while she and Trump proclaim without evidence that undocumented immigrants are rapists and murderers, “the worst of the worst” and the source of fentanyl and other drugs that plague our communities.
At a time of relatively low unemployment, rapid expansion of the ICE workforce requires a vigorous recruitment campaign and a lowering of standards. Accordingly, the agency is welcoming 18-year-olds as well as older Americans who previously were ineligible to serve in a demanding law enforcement capacity. One wonders about the quality and extent of training that these recruits will receive before they are sent out into the streets of our cities, masked and armed as they search for more “dirtbags.” The ICE recruiting website proclaims that “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out.”
The Trump administration has little interest in providing these immigrants with due process before they are forcibly removed, nor in heeding the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments contained in the Eighth Amendment.
Clearly, the “Alligator Alcatraz” prison camp which is polluting the previously pristine Big Cypress National Preserve and which a federal court is seeking to close, does not meet any constitutional standards. It has been noted that detainees at Alligator Alcatraz are given food that is crawling with maggots and denied necessary medications or access to their attorneys.
The denigration and persecution of immigrants in our midst clearly has a strong racist element. While people who arrived from Latin America and Asia are unceremoniously removed, a group of white Afrikaner farmers from South Africa were immediately granted asylum as the Trump administration proclaimed with scant evidence that they had suffered persecution by the Black majority there.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the now famous refugee from El Salvador who was illegally deported to a prison camp in his home country, is now facing a somewhat dubious human trafficking prosecution and the threat of deportation to Uganda on the other side of the world.
Refugees from Afghanistan who had risked their lives and freedom to help the American occupying forces in their country are being threatened with a forcible return despite the fact that the ruling Taliban will certainly persecute them, and may kill them.
Secretary Noem, who had a poisonous relationship with our nine Native tribes when she was South Dakota’s governor, makes no effort to hide her disdain for Americans or immigrants with darker skin or a different religion. When California Sen. Alex Padilla, who is descended from Mexican immigrants, attempted to forcefully question Noem about the alarming presence of armed National Guard troops on the streets of Los Angeles, he was immediately wrestled to the ground and handcuffed. Of course, Noem never apologized for this physical altercation.
She is part of an administration that is making its mark by persecuting and expelling immigrants. The goal is mass expulsion of undocumented immigrants who work hard in the fields and in packing plants, as well as college students with green cards who have expressed controversial political views and longtime residents who committed misdemeanor crimes decades ago.
The rule of law and protection of human rights is not a priority at this point.
Jay Davis of Rapid City is a retired lawyer and regular contributor to The South Dakota Standard.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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