Statement of the ILPS Commission on Migrants, Refugees, and Diaspora
In his first five months in office, Donald Trump mobilized immigration and other federal agents, and recently even the U.S. military, to fulfil one of his cornerstone campaign promises: the largest mass deportation program in history. However, the extrajudicial and inhumane methods of implementing this all-out assault targeting millions of migrants, along with other political attacks on the American people, have sparked massive protests throughout the country, with more than 5 million protesters mobilizing in thousands of “No Kings!” actions last weekend.
Trump quickly unleashed new fascist tactics against not only undocumented migrants, but also green card holders, permanent residents, students with valid visas, and other mostly working class migrants with no criminal history. Less than ten percent of the tens of thousands of detained migrants have any serious criminal background. His administration has blatantly denied the due process rights of migrants to fast-track detentions and deportations by the thousands. He has ignored or circumvented court orders to halt the deportation of migrants to third countries such as El Salvador, Libya, Guantanamo Bay, or South Sudan. All of these are known for abusive conditions in their jails and detention centres, and are far from the migrants’ families, communities, or any legal recourse to challenge their unjust isolation and overseas detention.
Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio have weaponized the detention and deportation system, falsely citing an “invasion” by foreign gangs to immediately detain and deport thousands of migrants from Venezuela with no due process, claiming “interference with foreign policy” to suppress political speech on campuses in support of Palestine, or labelling protests as “acts of rebellion” to forcibly subdue any opposition to ICE raids and enforcement in communities.
These indiscriminate, inhumane, and sweeping attacks against all migrants, which have resulted in the detentions and deportations of even some U.S. citizens, have sparked outrage, most recently against the escalated raids and arrests of hundreds of migrants in Los Angeles and across Southern California. In the predominantly Mexican and Central American communities in the Southwest, the diverse migrant, working class, and people of color communities took to the streets in the tens of thousands against these attacks as soon as they started. Trump responded with the oppressive federal takeover and deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard Troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles.
Trump and Congressional Republicans accused various non-profit organizations of financially and materially supporting protests, which they falsely linked to incidences of violence, “riots” and “terroristic” “acts of rebellion” against their immigration enforcement operations. The financial, communication, and other records of over 200 migrant-supporting institutions are now being investigated for their support and protection of migrants against the mass deportation program of the Trump administration—another example of fascist political repression of mainstream support for migrants’ rights. Even legislators and elected officials at the city, state and federal level are being detained and arrested for trying to protect migrants from abduction, to investigate conditions inside detention centres, or to question the federal crackdown and deployment of military forces into civilian communities in Los Angeles.
