Dem
47
GOP
53
We were thinking about the most politically unwise places to enforce the administration's immigration policy. Schools? Churches? Hospitals? Those have already been done. We imagined that there couldn't really be any worse option. But, as is so often the case, this administration managed to surprise us.
It couldn't be clearer, at this point, that someone in the White House is treating ICE as the administration's personal paramilitary police force. ICE's mandate is supposed to be policing undocumented immigration at, or within, 100 miles of the border. But when Los Angeles needs to be harassed? Send ICE. Minnesota, and in particular the Somalis in Minnesota, need to be punished? Send ICE. Airports are having issues because TSA isn't being paid? Send ICE.
And now, ICE will be patrolling the graduations of newly minted Marines. Families are invited to see their loved ones officially become a part of the Corps. But these days, you have to show ID to get on base, ostensibly to protect against an attack from one of the countries the U.S. is at war with. And at the moment, if you show up at Parris Island and can't show the proper ID, you get re-directed to the friendly ICE officers standing at the gate to explain why.
ICE spokespeople claim they have no intention of arresting anyone. Since this administration lies all day long (and well into the night), we don't particularly believe that. And even if they don't conduct arrests, the obvious effect is going to be to scare off people who fear they might be arrested, either because of their immigration status, or the hue of their skin. Some reward for people who are just coming to support America's troops... who also happen to be their relatives.
We could have sworn this administration was staunchly pro-military. And maybe it is, or at least it thinks it is. But clearly, at least at the present moment, it is even more staunchly anti-immigrant. And note what we write above, that "someone in the White House" is behind this. We're not so sure it's Donald Trump, exactly. He most certainly hates brown-skinned immigrants, but he also is a big fan of the performative rah-rah military stuff, and his political instincts are certainly good enough to know that going after the military, or military families, is a bad idea.
One potential person is Stephen Miller (and possibly a few of his acolytes). He is exactly the person in the administration who prioritizes hatred of immigrants above all else. If we have put the pieces together correctly here, it would suggest that Miller is either manipulating Trump, or doing end-runs around Trump, to be able to fully unleash his inner xenophobe. After all, Trump isn't as mentally sharp these days as he used to be, and he's pretty occupied with Iran. If we were an underling who was going to make an aggressive move, this would be the time we'd do it. Again, this is just a hunch, no more.
If this is the dynamic, it's... scary. Miller has no apparent limits on the cruelty he is OK with. Further, he is surely clever enough to realize that there will never again be an opportunity like this. It is improbable that such a hardcore anti-immigrant president will ever get elected again. And even if that happens, it is unlikely that Miller will have that president's ear. So, this is his last, best chance to pursue his goal.
Again, please be clear, the last two paragraphs are just speculation. There is no direct evidence to support any of this, just our general knowledge of this administration and its personnel. But if we have the right of it, things could get much uglier as the expiration date on Trump v2.0 draws closer. (Z)
Here is the poll on AI usage.