Rubio Comically Claims to Champion Free Speech, Abrego Garcia Update
Also, I discussed the current state of Trump’s immigration agenda with Justin Glawe on the American Doom podcast
I recently talked to
of . We discussed many issues covering the current state of Trump’s immigration crackdown and the targeting of immigrants for their speech. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was the main topic of discussion. And despite the Trump administration releasing new documents on Abrego Garcia just after this aired, they still don't prove he’s an MS-13 gang member, nor do they justify denying him due process.We also discussed a recent suicide in a Yuma, Arizona, Border Patrol station, and Houston police assisting ICE in arresting noncitizens after they called 911 for help. It’s worth a listen.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia Update
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released documents related to Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case. The documents, they claim, prove Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member. But what they fail to recognize is that he was originally thought to be a member of the gang because of a confidential informant, a Prince George's County cop, who has since been suspended for misconduct.
While it’s unclear exactly why the officer was suspended, it was a good enough reason to discredit the information. A judge in 2019 deemed Abrego Garcia not to be a member of MS-13 and released him with protection from deportation, especially to El Salvador, where his life would still be in danger. Additionally, DHS included a case involving a domestic incident in 2021 involving Abrego Garcia, which still doesn’t justify denying him due process.
It was good enough for ABC News to smear Abrego Garcia, though. As if this justifies anything the Trump administration is doing, particularly ignoring a judge's order that provided Abrego Garcia protection under the law. Interestingly, ABC mentions their story is, “according to court documents obtained by ABC News,” but those documents were publicly released and everyone has access to them at the DHS website (linked above).
The bottom line here is that the Trump administration is trying to make Abrego Garcia the poster boy for designating Latinos as “terrorists,” just like they made Mahmoud Khalil the face of how they’re weaponizing speech against people for the same reason. Abrego Garcia, Khalil, and countless others are not gang members, criminals, or terrorists.
They sure as hell aren’t “illegals.” They did everything the so-called “right” way.
Rubio Claims to Champion Free Speech
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a press release titled “Protecting and Championing Free Speech at the State Department.” In it, he talked about how freedom of speech and expression are a “cornerstone” of what it means to be a U.S. citizen. He goes on to denounce how individuals in the U.S. have been oppressed for their views.
Yes, the same guy who is revoking visas and green cards because of speech they wrongfully claim is antisemitic, is suggesting the Department of State is “protecting and championing” free speech. What is clear is that what is arguably the most antisemitic administration in history is weaponizing false claims of antisemitism based on a person’s skin color. Many imigrants in the U.S. are as bad if not worse than neo-Nazis and they are not being targeted. They’re white.
“Freedom of speech and expression have been a cornerstone of what it means to be an American citizen,” Rubio said. “For centuries, the United States served as a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world. Over the last decade, though, individuals in America have been slandered, fired, charged, and even jailed for simply voicing their opinions.”
Even if the speech was hateful, it’s still the right of all “people,” not just citizens, to speak their minds without fear of repression from the government. If people like British immigrant Sebastian Gorka, who is the current Director of Counterterrorism and a known Islamophobe with ties to antisemitic groups, can speak his mind, why can’t anyone else?
People like Gorka are doing real harm, as evidenced by his recently saying that advocating for due process is “aiding” terrorists. And he’s not alone. Others like Canadian immigrant and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and British immigrant Milo Yiannopoulos say hateful things about various marginalized groups and get away with it because they’re white.
Meanwhile, nothing Mahmoud Khalil said even comes close to these people.
But the most obvious of these antisemitic, anti-Black, Islamophobic, Latinophobic, racists is Elon Musk. Not only has he thrown out Nazi slautes, but he has always talked down about and to Black people, denigrates Latinos, demonizes Islam, and everything that doesn’t represent his white South African apartheid upbringing. If anyone is the epitome of Didn't Earn It (DEI), it’s him, and yet, he decries nonwhite people as if we are somehow oppressing him.
The hypocrisy of everyone in the Trump administration who supports weaponizing antisemitism based on dubious and constantly evolving redefinitions employed to suit the administration's authoritarian needs should be well-documented for historical purposes. Rubio’s hypocrisy must be a big part of the story, especially considering he also announced the shuttering of the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation Hub in the press release. The office was tasked with monitoring foreign disinformation efforts.
“It is the responsibility of every government official to continuously work to preserve and protect the freedom of Americans to exercise their free speech. That is why today I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC). Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving. This is antithetical to the very principles we should be upholding, and inconceivable that it was taking place in America.”
Rubio’s justification is focused on talking points heard in conservative circles, which argued the government was silencing their speech. With the rampant nature of right-wing disinformation on social media, this is a claim most of society didn’t take seriously. But now, as the government kidnaps people and ships them to slave labor prisons in a foreign country for their speech, their tattoos, and their clothes, conservatives are suddenly okay with targeting Brown people because they’ve been vilified in the media using conservatives’ talking points.
Rubio saying that this “is not an America our Founding Fathers would recognize” is a slap in the face of the Constitution’s authors and those of us who truly champion free speech.
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.
So much I want to unpack and comment upon in this article! I want to first say I did not know that Elmo (musk) had created a new acronym for DEI: and, isn’t that ironic, for someone who has never ever accrued income from the sweat of his own labors?