(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Pictures and Stories [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-20
Not just authorian, world-class authoritarian.
The U.S. now has a goal of 3,000 arrests and deportation per day. The U.S. policy is for its I.C.E. officers to work both masked and unidentified. Now, the U.S. is withholding the names of the prosecuting attorneys in those few cases that actually make it to a hearing.
Seemingly, now ICE officials have inside access to hearing dates and times, so that whether the case is won or lost, many are simply captured outside of the courthouse (I think calling these arrests is giving them too much of an air of legality.) and disappeared. As the raw numbers of captured increase, this becomes a logistical problem.
Like the Germans in the 1940’s, the current administration has discovered that the only way to handle the raw numbers of prisoners is to build concentration camps. The stated U.S. goal is to create multiple concentration camps outside of any oversight. The administration is not sure there are enough potential sites within our national boundaries. Thus, we know the scale of kidnappings they envision.
Thirty years ago or so, when I was living in New Orleans, El Salvador had an authoritarian government that was, “Disappearing,” people it did not like. Most were never seen again. The then Bush administration supported the Salvadoran government. Reports on the actual number of the disappeared who never returned range from 8,000 to 10,000.
In November of 1989, The Salvadoron military killed six Jesuits working at the Central American University there, as well as their housekeeper and her daughter. The government denied involvement in this. Eventually, the weight of information overwhelmed denial of government involvement of the killings. I would say that daring reporters made it possible for investigators to prove it was the military who killed the Jesuits. This stirred international outrage and led to massive protests around the world. Not too surprisingly, Jesuit institutions around the world were instrumental in organizing some of these protests.
One of my former co-workers was working with a missionary organization in El Salvador at the time. He became disappeared. I was working at a Jesuit University, Loyola of New Orleans, at the time. I joined the planning group for a protest of U.S. policy in El Salvador. Eventually, twenty or so of us were arrested, tried and convicted. Seemingly, there was a law against blocking an elevator in a Federal building.
But, the protests, the arrests, and the trial did get the attention of the local media.
The combination of protests and widespread reporting eventually helped U.S. citizens vote the Bush administration out of office. The U.S. policy towards El Salvadore quickly changed under the Clinton administration. My disappeared co-worker was eventually released, unharmed.
El Salvador is at it again. Over 80,000 have been swept up and arrested. Whether or not they will be disappeared, is still an open question. That said, attempts to talk to those in the concentration camps are routinely rebuffed. Meanwhile, the U.S. is in negotiations to ship arrestees to foreign countries with no tradition of Constitutional rights.
The Trump administrative goal, therefore, is not just to support authoritarian regimes, but to be the ring-leader of them. Heck, we will fund third world prisons for our illegally deported prisoners. A question could be raised as to how much of this funding goes directly into the pocket of the local authorities, as opposed into the operation of the foreign-based prisons. A second question is how much of the funding is kicked-back to the U.S. administration.
Compared to the U.S., however, the Salvadoran government officials are just pikers. The U.S. plans on disappearing 90,000 per month. Multiply that out over four years. We start moving into the top ten of the all-time worst authoritarian regimes.
And of course, Trump will, likely back off arrests of folks in industries that might directly impact his life or the life of his rich backers. Heck, even rich folks need food. Rich folk, especially, need good workers in the service industries. Who do we know who has any investment in service industries such as hotel operations?
So, nothing about this is humanitarian, unless the guidelines for consideration prioritize not inconveniencing the rich. Nothing about this follows the American traditions of rights for all on American soil. Nothing about this is legal under the Constitution.
Over thirty years ago, with the help of some religous institutions, our nation rose up against this type of authoritarianism. I hate to say this, but right now, America is still in the discussion stage of whether or not this level of cruelty is acceptable. As a nation, we have not committed to opposition to it.
Not surprisingly, differences of opinion largely follow partisand lines. We, therefore, need a way to begin this discussion across party lines. I have a simple suggestion. Use pictures and stories.
As of now, I do not know any of the newly disappeared. However, simple math says more and more of us will as time passes. I do know that very few people are moved to action by statistics. Pictures and stories are the key. At any protest, we need pictures and stories of the life of those now missing.
When we make this personal, we make it larger. When we make it larger, we can win.
If you know someone who has been kidnapped by ICE, find a picture of him or her. Get all the information you can on his or her life. Then, spread that story as far as you can. Then, we will win.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/20/2334293/-Pictures-and-Stories?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
