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Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and Kristi Noem’s ICE operations are becoming increasingly unhinged, cruel, and inhumane.
Every day that passes, there are new stories highlighting the authoritarian depravity being unleashed on immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
Just this week in Minnesota, ICE harassed and drew guns on an off-duty police officer and detained a 5-year-old child to use as bait before sending him to a detention center in Texas, among the many other abuses.
ICE is also reportedly asserting the power to forcibly search the home of anyone without a warrant, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press.
All of these tactics are not only legally dubious, economically damaging, and politically foolish; they’re just plain morally wrong.
I made sure to make this point in my appearance on MS NOW’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday.
I don’t think there are enough people with platforms making the simple moral case against this.
There are not two sides to this story. What ICE is doing is downright depraved and authoritarian. I just had to explicitly say that.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is that it echoes patterns we’ve seen before, not just abroad, but here at home. This point was still on my mind, fresh off my MLK Day speech I gave at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
This is reminiscent of Slave catchers. This has echoes of the Jim Crow South. Government power used to intimidate, harass, control, and oppress.
When federal agents approach random people, assault them, harass them, and treat entire communities as suspects by default, the callback is unmistakable.
That’s why this feels visceral. People recognize it instinctively.
On a human level, it’s becoming increasingly difficult, and frankly impossible, for me to empathize with people who look at this and still defend it.
This should be the line where people say enough is enough.
If you want to see another moment from my appearance, you can check out this clip with my commentary on Trump’s week abroad:
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