Ever since one of the members of my church was kidnapped and deported in 2018, immigration law and policies have been at the front of my mind when it comes to freedom in the United States. I have worried publicly and privately for years that what happens with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), CBP (Customs and Border Protection), USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will eventually pose a threat to all of us. Despite everyone who alleged that that was an overreaction, here we are. In the first few months of the Trump administration, we’ve quickly transitioned to a reality where all of our rights are at stake.
This will all relate to writing, so stay with me.
This week alone, we’ve seen some critical disasters. A US judge has ruled that Mahmoud Khalil can be deported based on what he believes, says, and who he associates with (i.e., no First Amendment protections). Khalil is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and the government has made no allegations of criminal justice against him. The only thing he did wrong in the eyes of the government is that they don’t like his “current or expected beliefs, statements or associations.” Simply because of what he believes and his exercise of First Amendment rights related to those beliefs, Khalil is set to be deported. If Khalil can’t exercise First Amendment rights without the threat of deportation, no one can.
Also this week, the Trump Administration said it is unable to tell courts where Kilmar Abrego García is after they deported him. García also was in the United States legally on a work permit. He had been since 2019. Yet ICE officers stopped him in March, baselessly accused him of being a gang member, and deported him to El Salvador. They had no evidence tying García to the gang but used the accusation to deport him without due process. The implications are beyond frightening. If they can deport García without due process, giving him an opportunity to contest their allegations, then no one is guaranteed due process. Not you, not me.
In my home state of North Carolina, a friend who works with migrants from Afghanistan (refugees of the Taliban takeover) said many of the families he worked with received threatening letters that said, “Do not attempt to remain in the United States – the federal government will find you.” Also in North Carolina, students at UNC Greensboro have had visas revoked in an attempt to expel foreign students from the country. Rümeysa Öztürk, a student at Tufts University, was targeted by ICE agents and abducted off the street in Somerville, Massachusetts because of her support for Palestinians. Like Khalil, Öztürk’s First Amendment rights don’t protect her (despite legal status in the US) from the Trump Administration. National security risks apparently also include elementary school students in Los Angeles, where ICE attempted to enter schools to detain children this week.
The classic Niemöller poem (“First they came for…”) verges on cliché at this point, but it’s also true. The Trump administration is aggressively pushing the boundaries of what they can do with immigration enforcement. They are actively turning them into a fascist secret police that they undoubtedly plan on turning on US citizens if/when they get the opportunity. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has mentioned in public to reporters that Trump is considering deporting US citizens. It’s not legal. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has explicitly said that it’s illegal. But many of the examples cited above were thought to be on the wrong side of the law, too! That’s why they haven’t been attempted regularly before.
The Trump Administration will continue to weaponize immigration enforcement against its opponents as much as it can. That much is abundantly clear. The goal is to decimate the opposition, either through deportation, incarceration, or the chilling effect all of this has on oppositional speech. That’s where this becomes about writing for me and why I’m sending this out in my newsletter.
Right now, one of the most important things to do is to dissent persistently, consistently, and loudly. It is incumbent upon all of us to let everyone in earshot know that we oppose this and we aren’t deterred by the consequences of saying so. Their goal is to make you quiet about it. The fewer and fewer speak out against them, the easier it is for fascists to pick them off and rid themselves of meaningful opposition. If large numbers of people are actively angry about their activities and saying so to their neighbors, it is much harder for fascists to retain control.
The protests last weekend and the ones planned for next weekend are a critical part of this pushback. They can’t punish all of us. If they do, they grind the country to a halt and there’s not much for them to rule over. Fascism always fails, but it doesn’t until it is opposed.
So, make social media posts. Have conversations in public. Write long essays that make people mad. Send in a letter to the editor. Call in to radio and TV shows. Tell your community leaders what you think. Gather with your neighbors. Attend protests. Volunteer. Some people will sit on the sidelines and say that all this activity doesn’t matter because nothing is changing. It matters because this sort of public opposition is the last bulwark against fascism. When all the institutions fail, we are the last line of defense. Bolster those defenses now, not when it’s too late.
There’s an important caveat here. I don’t make these demands of the folks already at risk like Khalil and Öztürk. That’s for them to decide. I make these demands of those of us who aren’t yet targets, those of us who aren’t yet in the sights of the secret police. You need to do this for those who can’t, but also for yourself – before you become one of those who can’t.
Godspeed, dissent.
Wesley Spears-Newsome 