American Hispanics who voted for Trump probably should have realized that Trump’s goons wouldn’t be discriminating about who they pick up:
The Trump administration’s disturbing trend of ensnaring American citizens with its immigration crackdown has shown no signs of stopping, with the latest incident involving a 19-year-old whose family says he was held in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility for 10 days.
The White House is trying to beat back allegations surrounding its April arrest and detention of Jose Hermosillo of Albuquerque, New Mexico. As NBC News reported:
Immigration agents detained a U.S. citizen for 10 days after he was accused of illegally entering the United States while reportedly visiting Arizona this month, his family said.
But the Department of Homeland Security said Jose Hermosillo’s arrest “was the direct result of Hermosillo’s own actions and statements.” Hermosillo, 19, who lives in Albuquerque, was detained near Nogales, Arizona, on April 8, court documents say.
They allege that he illegally entered the country from Mexico and was found “without the proper immigration documents.”
There’s dispute over some of the basic facts in the case. The Trump administration said the arrest occurred after Hermosillo approached Border Patrol agents in Arizona and identified himself as a Mexican citizen who had entered the U.S. illegally, and the Department of Homeland Security posted what it says is a signed affidavit from Hermosillo that support its claims.
But according to Arizona Public Media, Hermosillo’s girlfriend’s aunt said that he did, in fact, say he was a U.S. citizen “but they didn’t believe him” and that he probably would’ve been deported to Mexico if his family hadn’t provided officials with his birth certificate and Social Security card. The Trump administration didn’t immediately respond to MSNBC’s request for comment.
I never understood why they voted for him in the first place. It’s obvious that he has no respect for them, their culture or their countries. Stephen Miller is an outright Nazi. They were always going to go after law-abiding tax-paying people who are just trying to feed their families.
Not to mention innocent children:
In shelters across New York, migrant children sit in front of computer and TV screens, appearing virtually in real court proceedings. They swivel in chairs, walk in circles and play with their hair — while immigration judges address them on the screens in front of them.
“The reason we’re here is because the government of the United States wants you to leave the United States,” Judge Ubaid ul-Haq, presiding from a courtroom on Varick Street, told a group of about a dozen children on a recent morning on Webex.
“It’s my job to figure out if you have to leave,” ul-Haq continued. “It’s also my job to figure out if you should stay.”
The parties included a 7-year-old boy, wearing a shirt emblazoned with a pizza cartoon, who spun a toy windmill while the judge spoke. There was an 8-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister, in a tie-dye shirt, who squeezed a pink plushy toy and stuffed it into her sleeve. None of the children were accompanied by parents or attorneys, only shelter workers who helped them log on to the hearing.
Immigrant advocates and lawyers say an increasing number of migrant children are making immigration court appearances without the assistance of attorneys, which they say will lead to more children getting deported.
The Trump administration on March 21 terminated part of a $200 million contract that funds attorneys and other legal services for unaccompanied children. Those are children who arrive without parents or legal guardians — and typically instead come with aunts, uncles or older siblings, according to immigration attorneys.
While the contract termination is being challenged in court, immigrant advocates say the impact is already being felt, as lawyer groups pull back on services – leaving some children on their own.
“How is a child supposed to navigate this?” said Beth Krause, supervising attorney of the Immigrant Youth Project at the Legal Aid Society. She noted many adults find themselves confused and disadvantaged in immigration court proceedings.
He did this before. Why would anyone think he wouldn’t do it again?
I’m glad to see some recognition that maybe the price of eggs wasn’t worth it. I wish people would realize that the authoritarian right will always come for them too eventually. Always.