A friend of mine recently called to tell me a chilling story. He has a family member who teaches middle-schoolers in our city’s public school system. The students come from a relatively poor area, and are largely Hispanic ten and eleven-year-olds.
And for the past few weeks, his classroom has been visited, sporadically, by ICE.
The ICE officers who come to his classroom have a standard routine; they take a student–a ten or eleven-year-old–out of the classroom and the school for “questioning” of some sort. Sometimes, that student is returned; sometimes–presumably, if it is determined that he or she is undocumented–that student never returns. In the latter case, according to what my friend’s relative has been told, the student, along with his or her parents, has been summarily deported.
My friend was appalled. His relative, the teacher, is infuriated, but helpless.
We don’t know anything more about this invasion of a public school classroom. We don’t know whether the child or the parents are afforded any sort of due process, or whether they have the services of legal counsel. (According to a recent article, routine denial of due process in immigration cases is an intentional part of Trump’s effort to undermine the rule of law.) We don’t know whether they are simply taken, like the widely-reported case of the Massachusetts graduate student with a valid visa who was accosted by plain-clothes ICE officials on a city street, arrested and flown to Louisiana for the “crime” of writing an op-ed with which our current dictator disagreed.
Undocumented immigrants have, by definition, broken the law. They’ve come to the United States without submitting themselves to our incredibly complicated and lengthy legal immigration process. In most cases, that is the only law they’ve broken. The middle-schoolers who are being “disappeared” from the classroom of my friend’s relative are innocent of any intentional lawbreaking, as are the thousands of DACA kids who were brought here as small children.
It is one thing to agree with the administration that undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of crimes while on our soil should be deported; it is another thing entirely to stand by and watch hard-working and otherwise law-abiding people–and their children–being summarily snatched from their lives and their classrooms and taken…where? How?
All my friend really knows is what his teacher/relative is experiencing. His relative doesn’t know any more than the fact that ICE periodically appears in his classroom, takes a child away, and sometimes brings that child back.
And sometimes, doesn’t.
But thanks to the media, we do know about the graduate students (lovingly referred to as “lunatics” by Marco Rubio, our new and especially despicable Secretary of State) who are being rounded up and stripped of their entirely legal residency for the “crime” of expressing opinions with which that our madman President disagrees. Despite assertions to the effect that these students have assisted Hamas and other terrorist organizations, none of them has been credibly accused–indeed, accused at all– of any such activity. No evidence of terrorist support has even been offered. It has become abundantly clear that the only “aid and comfort” offered has come in the form of opinions–the expression of which, at least until the advent of our current fascist regime, has been constitutionally protected.
Is it possible that my friend, his relative, and yours truly are jumping to unwarranted conclusions? All we know, as I’ve said, is that ICE is routinely visiting a largely Hispanic public school classroom, taking individual students out for interrogation, and returning some but not all of them. Perhaps the fact that this is occuring during a time when we are seeing reports of unconstitutional behaviors nationally is making us more suspicious than we would otherwise be.
Perhaps.
Since I have only the information I have shared above, I’m asking any of my readers who might have additional information to share it. (I doubt any ICE personnel read this blog, but if there is such a reader, I would especially welcome a comment correcting any erroneous suppositions. I would be extremely happy to have those suppositions corrected–and the picture I’ve formed of terrified ten-year-olds expunged.)
If, however, the conclusions we’ve reached, based upon what we do know, turn out to be accurate, that would suggest that Trump has taken the U.S. much farther down the path to a fascist autocracy than most of us have thus far recognized.
I hope to see a lot of you at tomorrow’s protest….
They are not taking rotten apples but the low hanging fruit which is easiest to pick. The easiest are those who have registered and reporting to ICE as required. Who is next – DACA? Sad and terrible times!
During the 1940s ICE was known as the Gestapo.
I am in Portugal for 2 more days having begun a 21 day European vacation. It is “the old normal way” here. Tomorrow at 6 am Indiana time I will be at Lisbon’s April 5th protest- white men- email me m**xgeoatgmaildotcom- if interested in WhiteMenForRacialJustice – wwwdotwmrjdotorg – with questions or use our website- Zero BIPOC almost and a lot less white women- get or get active or do more if u can-3% of us can be a critical mass- my Allie’s Claire in VT is 88, Helen in Florida only 87- I will celebrate turning 74 the same day in May – Rachelle Zola- Google her will turn 77- she walked 860 miles in 2024- Fromm Chicago to Montgomery, AL- speak with our children, grandchildren, parents, partners..,
These draconian invasions of our children’s classrooms has the slimy fingers of Stephen Miller all over them. Due process? It is what Miller says it is.
And, the cruelty is the point. The current fascist regime is built on cruelty and being led by a collection of psychopaths like Miller and the orange hairball.
I’m afraid to post my fears even on here for my daily fears for my family members; having been hacked, I no longer contact them for fear of drawing attention. Along with the daily fears of losing my income, my right to vote by mail, my right to speak MY truths, I am also afraid of ICE actions.
I can already see that “…Trump has taken the U.S. much farther down the path to a fascist autocracy than most of us have thus far recognized.” Effects of his tariffs are already active in Indiana shutting down business; reported as only a two-week shut-down. But who believes that two weeks will be the extent of Trump’s unamerican activities here; our U.S. Senator has already drawn attention to Indiana’s close ties to Trump, Musk and all MAGAs.
What are all of those people doing who laughed when I warned them about Trump moving back into the White House. The wife of one the old white men Trump supporters who took actual action against me a few months ago still speaks to me. She is friendly and thinks I’m beautiful but…she is deep into dementia at this point so offers no support.
I read several weeks ago that ICE had a reward system for people who turned in undocumented immigrants in the US. It’s highly possible that someone at the school has contacted ICE to let them know there are lots of students there who might be in the country illegally. They would have information about the parents and students if they were in the administrative departments.
Believe it or not, there are many MAGATs employed in school districts, especially at the administrative level. There was also a hotline for schools and companies violating DEI programs. You got to report on your college or company employer.
As for the “Venezuelan gang members” sent to the torture chamber in El Salvador, the proverbial shit is hitting the fan, and the Trump administration is circling the wagons with lies, lies, lies. Actual journalists are doing the work and investigating who got detained by ICE and sent because family members are speaking out. Trump/Miller/Rubio sent innocent people there, as I warned. The reason Trump/Musk has attacked Judge Boasberg so hard is because they know they’ve been caught. They’re refusing to turn over the list of detainees because they know they weren’t arrested or charged with any crimes. Again, real journalists know there would be public records of such things.
(As I mentioned previously, Salvadoran President Bukele is corrupt and wants the MS-13 members back in El Salvador before they have a chance to a trial, and their conversations are a matter of public record. They have the goods on Bukele.)
As for deporting and detaining students who were accused of being “Hamas supporters” because they criticize Israel’s genocide, there is a group out there called “Bedas” or something like that who is doxxing students by sending the information to ICE or Trump’s administration. The tattletales have an X account and are protected by Musk.
I expect a lot of MAGATs to reach out to ICE, DHS, or the State Police to hurt their neighbors who aren’t cult members. Like Trump and his childish administration, these MAGATs get some pleasure by hurting others. It’s a sickness!
It’s a sad day when the un-supreme court handed Donald a get out of jail free card and unlimited dark money with a cabal of the richest oligarchs via the heritage foundation and project 2025 with a roadmap to be the fascists they always wanted to be. A perfect storm as it is and the ability with media complacency and the old “guard” politicians willingness to turn a blind eye akin to taking candy from babies. How does one fight these overwhelming odds, especially with big brother watching every move and the dumbing down of our educational system. I guess the answer is, anyway we can.
As for murphy’s law the inclement weather for Saturday’s demonstration will cut participants. Especially from those people experiencing Wednesdays terrible storms as we did. I hope to be there. We can only hope to blunt these atrocities
I started using the 5Calls app recently. Now I am getting emails from state representatives I never called thanking me for contacting them in reference to bills I know nothing about. Does anyone know anything about this? Obviously this worries me. Has the app been corrupted? Am I going to be held accountable in some way for messages I never sent?
Stephen Miller is Trumpo’s Eichman!
Trump is gleefully running through the fascist playbook, chapter by chapter.
Can someone tell me when crossing the border became a crime? It wasn’t long ago that it was a misdemeanor. Am I confused or misguided? Next up, is gang affiliation or tattooing a crime? If an individual has been granted protected status because the gang he had been affiliated with has tried to kill him, should he be deemed a criminal? What Federal statute makes any of these things felonies?
These questions need answers before we ship them off to one of the worst prisons in the world, never to be seen again. We used to call it DUE process. Now it’s just dew. It evaporates quickly.
It’s too bad that ICE doesn’t do psych evals before hiring agents. Not one of the agents who accosted the Tufts student seemed to be having a problem with pushing, shoving, and terrorizing the young woman. It’s a good thing they all wore masks. Anonymity is always good when you’re doing unspeakable things to people.
For years Islamic militias have worn masks to make their identification difficult or impossible (a tactic that they might have learned from the KKK). Isn’t it appropriate that ICE is acting like ISIS?
And let’s start calling a spade a spade! Authoritarian = Totalitarian = Dictatorial
Sharon Miller – why are you surprised? Regulation of Big Tech is minimal; techgals and techbros love to break things and digitize chaos…today’s world!
It’s a heartbreak. It certainly isn’t the America I grew up loving. Did Putin help trump think this up? Maybe ICE should take trump away from his golf game and put him in one of Russia’s prisons?
What we are doing to our children is criminal. I use “we” collectively as the agents are acting on the orders of not only dump/rat/lizard (Miller), but the governor of Indiana. They have been voted into office by the citizenry. Braun signed an order that requires law enforcement to cooperate with ICE.
Kids are not just confronted with tornado drills and active shooter drills. Now they have to see authority figures enter the classroom to “disappear” their classmates, or not. The trauma being inflicted will last a lifetime.
Anyone in this state who still supports MAGA and declares themselves “Christian”, like our low-life lt. gov., deserve our deep disrespect. Call them out at every opportunity. They consider themselves superior and treat anyone who differs from them as “the other”. White sepulchers all.
The weather will make it impossible for me to be at the protest tomorrow. Mobility challenges have forced me to realize that I would be a burden and hindrance to my fellow protestors. I will stay home and do what I can to resist.
Today is the date of my partner’s passing. I am glad he is not here to see everything he worked a lifetime to build destroyed by a petulant, evil, and vicious man who chooses to play golf with his Saudi buddies rather than honor the fallen soldiers coming home to rest.
It sickens me to know that there is no one in the Republican Congressional delegation who the moral integrity to stand again all of this. And they all have been elected by We, the People.
this is pure get ready to submit. authoritarianizm as it gets. start with schools,tell where. preach the gulag to the young.
nothing like looking into the eyes of people everyday whoanever watch the news and merely move to condem someone,anyone. kicking someone is a street thing in the cities,italians,gooks,etc. here in NoDak these people are stone cold to others who are not their pack. family people with kids, neing taught to hate..ya gotta stand there and listen to it.
prospect.org
theyre not tariffs, theyre sanctions. Dave Dayan.
has audio feed..
id be better off on this train of thought, ive watched it since reagan. and its still the movement to take control. wall streets probably wetting thier brooks bros.
time to buy up cheap stocks,etc. but, if the track is right, the working class will be mere economic slaves to the rich,or, get warehoused for profit.. hey, magats dream eh?
musk:
immigrant, south africa, billionaire walkin——-.
deport, no worth of moral judgement.
devises tyranny along with other billionaires/wall street for gain/
reject 4/5/25
I am interested if anyone has heard who is buying on Wall Street. Prices fall, but these are sales and that means someone is buying.
The other day I saw a comment, on this blog, I believe, that had the perfect monikers for those monsters squatting in the Oval Office: Trumputin and Muscovite. I intend to use them going forward.
For several reasons, I’m unable to attend tomorrow’s rally, but try to do my part in other ways. JoAnn Green, I understand your trepidation about posting things, so take some heart in knowing I post enough to more than compensate.
Finally: I have a close friend who is Muslim, and who is married to a Mexican man. He is here legally, has a green card and has applied for naturalization. We all know by now that that means absolutely nothing; furthermore, he converted to Islam when he married her, so there’s a double whammy. They have two daughters, seven and thirteen, who resemble their father more than their mother, especially regarding skin color. To say I live with a constant sick feeling in my stomach over concern for their safety is an understatement.
Lester. I didn’t say I was surprised. I said I was worried and asked if this has been happening to anyone else.
We humans tend to want t avoid making large mistakes, and maybe looking a bit of a fool. We have a natural tendency to temper our reactions.
I think that’s happening en masse right now. I think people generally aren’t reacting as strongly as is warranted to the situation the world finds itself in. I get it. You think of the USA as special and powerful, as the “shining city on the hill”, as Reagan paraphrased.
It’s a little like climate change. Are we already past the tipping point? If not, we’re definitely very near it. At the same time, we sure don’t act like it.
The world order has changed. The USA’s preeminent position is no longer a sure bet. Personally, I think the damage to your standing and reputation around the world is already beyond repair. And with your broken, two-party, gerrymandered, filibustering political system, there is no reason for any of us in the rest of the world to think that you are less than _many_ decades away from any sort of recovery.
We will go ahead without you.
Morton:
comtact a broker and ask, when to buy?. usally when the markets bottom. talk like a investor that has limited cash on hand. find a lead into how he knows whos buying and when. this scenerio is being repeated because they have had lots of practice since reagan… just the names change.
My immigration lawyer daughter is so busy she even works some weekends now. I hope to see her later and will ask for the facts going on here. Personally, I think underage children should be off limits to ICE, and the school should have protective custody.
Every case is different. Generally, Ice is not on approved list in school offices. Rokita has been working against that recently. Health and Human services sometimes check on the wellbeing of the students while at school.
One case was a 16 yr. Old whose father was being deported and wanted his son to go with him. Human services went in and asked the student what he wanted to do. The student didn’t want to return with his alcoholic father to the country where he was being recruited/forced to join a gang. Ice deported the father, and the son stayed with other relative. It’s complicated, my daughter had a lot more questions than answers like what school public or charter and what district? I wish she had time to answer here there are so many variables that seem to be in flux.