Republicans Are Using Immigration to Bolster a Police State
Republicans propose massive cuts to fund mass deportations, mass incarcerations, militarized and federalized police, a militarized border, but not immigration reform
Republicans are no longer interested in legislation like the ‘Bipartisan Border Bill’, despite it fulfilling much of what Trump wanted before the election and being a gift to far-right MAGA Republicans. All they’re interested in now is continuing to obscure the lines between federal, state, and local law enforcement while using an aggressive, often violent, and illegal approach against noncitizens and citizens alike to detain them for dubious reasons.
The stories have so far been harrowing. We’ve heard of facilities at triple capacity unable to meet detainees' food requirements and healthcare needs. We’ve seen the videos of people being disappeared off the streets or from their workplace. The reports of people being sent to foreign prisons for nothing more than being a noncitizen and denied due process are prevalent.
That nine noncitizens have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers since January 20 is alarming, to say the least. And it only seems to be getting worse.
In a story that far-right media has taken off with, and legacy media has largely ignored, occurred at the end of April when a so-called ‘riot’ broke out at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas. The detention center was in the news on April 18 when migrants at the facility formed an “S-O-S” in the recreation area to protest inhumane conditions. A Reuters drone captured the scene, and the photo was shared all over the world.
In drawing attention to the inhumane conditions, migrants were able to highlight the inadequate food and mistreatment in the facility. Many detainees at the Bluebonnet facility have publicly denied any connections to Tren de Aragua (TdA) and expressed fears of being deported to El Salvador. No evidence has been shown to connect any of the migrants at the facility with TdA, as U.S. officials deny migrants their day in court.
Eight days later, however, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on April 26, migrants at the detention center staged what appears to be another protest. The agency, which has already called them every derogatory name that’s allowed on TV, labeled them ‘foreign terrorists’ while alleging that the actions were an attempted gang takeover of a prison.
“23 TdA members barricaded themselves in the Bluebonnet Detention Facility, threatened to take hostages, and endangered officers. Keeping these foreign terrorists in ICE facilities poses a serious threat to ICE officers, staff, and other detainees,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “The media repeated these TdA gang members’ false sob stories, but the truth is these are members of a foreign terrorist organization that rape, maim, and murder for sport.”
In a filing to the Supreme Court requesting it end a temporary injunction blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), DHS is pushing the unvalidated contention that the migrants in Texas involved in what is likely a protest are TdA gang members. The agency is using them as a pretext to ask the Supreme Court to allow their deportations under the AEA.
DHS wants to deport them immediately, forgoing their due process and accusing the noncitizens of threatening “to take hostages and injure facility staff and ICE officers in addition to attempting to flood the housing unit by clogging toilets.” It should be noted that clogging toilets and flooding a cell block is a common protest tactic in prisons globally. Because of this, DHS alleges that migrants are “threats to law enforcement” despite being imprisoned.
But even that level of inhumanity is not enough. Trump and Republicans want more to satisfy their bloodlust for nonwhite immigrants as they jump for joy at declaring white South Africans refugees. Several dozen were brought here under the pretext of a nonexistent white genocide, a fictional tale based on third grade thinking often shared by neo-nazis, white nationalists, and other far-right weirdos like white Chrstian nationalists.
In comes the budget reconciliation bill. Where Republicans are proposing cuts to tons of social services to allocate as much as $175 billion for immigration enforcement and pad the pockets of the private prison industry while causing as much harm as possible to nonwhite people with their dreams of a lily white society that doesn't exist and never has existed anywhere.
Democrats Push Back
During a recent Homeland Security oversight hearing, House Democrats pulled no punches in calling out DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and her department's abuse of power. Ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) went in pretty hard on Noem during his opening statement, setting the tone for Democrats early. Republicans, however, simply praised Noem's inhumanity toward nonwhite immigrants, legal or otherwise, and U.S. citizens.
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) also lambasted Noem and criticized how DHS is operating outside the confines of the law. Ramirez held nothing back in questioning Noem on basic constitutional law and again demanded Noem’s resignation while also calling out Noem’s photo ops, calling them a propaganda campaign. Ramirez told Noem she wasn't fit for the office of DHS Secretary.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) also called out Noem for violating basic tenets of the Constitution while highlighting how victims of DHS’s tactics are suffering in inhumane conditions in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). Garcia also wanted Noem and the Trump administration to provide proof of life for Andry Romero, the makeup artist sent to CECOT over his tattoos, which have no bearing on gang affiliation, as TdA doesn’t use tattoos as markers.
While Democrats pushed back in the House, last week Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced an immigration plan that called for more Border Patrol agents, more technology to detect fentanyl smuggling, a pathway to citizenship for some immigrants, and reforming the asylum system. Gallego’s plan is unlikely to get much attention from Republicans, who are beholden to Trump and have control of the House and Senate.
Some points of Gallego’s plan make sense. However, much of the asylum reform he proposed would make it harder to claim asylum by adding various restrictions. The plan also calls for taking the asylum process out of the courts and instead allowing asylum agents the authority to decide asylum claims. This, however, is problematic due to the history of discrimination by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.
Gallego’s plan builds on what the bipartisan border bill had in it, including allowing a president to shut down the border. But it also falls short of the much-needed immigration reform, something Republicans have shown they were never really interested in accomplishing. Instead, the far-right Trump agenda is focused on deterrence through abuse and inhumanity.
But historical data have taught us that making asylum more difficult to claim and using inhumanity as a deterrent only makes crossing the border between points of entry and fleeing at the sight of Border Patrol agents much more common. In addition, migrants are more likely to attempt to enter the U.S. through more rugged and unforgiving terrain that often leads to death.
The notion of inhumanity being used as a deterrent is not new. But despite the decades of studies and reports indicating that inhumane deterrence policies don’t work, the U.S. continues to make the atrocities it commits worse by arguing it expects different outcomes than those that science provides. These policies not only make migrants more likely to be exploited by gangs and cartels but also put them at greater risk of losing their lives in remote areas of the border.
Meanwhile, aside from the Delia Ramirezes and the Robert Garcias of the Democratic Party, who said they would not vote to increase DHS’s funding, we must note that increased funding for an ever-growing agency that continues to move into law enforcement over civilians has been bipartisan. Based on this, we can expect some Democrats to get behind Republicans to avoid being labeled as anti-cop and supportive of so-called ‘illegal immigration.’
This time, however, the sticking point isn’t the inhumanity for many Republicans and Democrats alike. Instead, it’s the cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for needy families. These pressing issues for lawmakers can potentially block the White House’s budget proposal. At this point, the bill can be paused with just three no votes from Republicans in the Budget Committee, which votes on Friday.
Some other sticking points for lawmakers are that after mandatory spending for benefits programs like Social Security and Medicare in the 2026 budget request, 40% of nonmilitary spending is for DHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and just 24% is for departments not involved in law enforcement or military functions such as those that provide services related to housing, food access, education, healthcare and more.
Arturo is an independent journalist whose work can be found at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
ICE immigration prisons are poorly staffed. This is why it easy to take them over. If every facility had a protest, it would cripple the deportations.
Great work Arturo.