Strike Team at the Border, Migrants Beaten in El Paso Detention Center
Plus, Marco Rubio goes on a brown-nosing tour after Trump’s Ukraine debacle and more
With legacy and most major news media outlets rightfully focused on Elon Musk and the Trump administration’s targeting of federal institutions and mass layoffs, many stories are being missed or getting very little attention. From law enforcement agencies invoking the Laken Riley Act to justify deportations and migrants being beaten in U.S. migrant detention centers to the Department of Defense (DOD) sending a strike team to the border, these events are the catalyst that will dictate future action by the Trump administration’s “peace through strength” strategy.
Two weeks ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made alarming statements while visiting AFRICOM (U.S. Africa Command) in Germany. During a presser, Hegseth suggested he and four-star generals should have unilateral authority to order air strikes on people designated as “terrorists,” a power reserved for the president. Now, with the escalating aggressive posture of the U.S. military – driven by the secretary’s dangerous obsession with the border – signals a destructive environment manifesting that will almost certainly violate Mexico’s sovereignty.
DOD Sends Stryker Brigade to Border
On Saturday, Chief Spokesperson for the Department of Defense Sean Parnell issued a statement confirming the deployment of a Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) along with a General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB) to “expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States,” Parnell said.
“These forces will arrive in the coming weeks and their deployment underscores the Department's unwavering dedication to working alongside the Department of Homeland Security to secure our southern border and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States under President Trump's leadership,” Parnell continued.
According to the Pentagon, each SBCT is a “mechanized infantry force” of approximately 4,400 soldiers built around the Stryker vehicle (eight-wheeled armored platform) that “excels in operations requiring swift response.” The GSAB consists of roughly 650 troops, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for command and medical evacuation, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters for heavy lift operations to “enhance operational reach and support.”
“This deployment marks the latest wave of active-duty troops sent to the border since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. Following his declaration to "seal the border" and combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking, initial deployments included 1,600 Marines and soldiers by late January, joining 2,500 reservists already mobilized,” reads the Pentagon’s press release.
This move is much more than saber-rattling and is being dismissed as not-so-big-news far too easily for an administration thriving on being antagonistic and aggressive. The lack of respect for world leaders and the “do as we say or there will be consequences” approach to diplomacy will not bode well for the United States or the nations at the wrong end of Hegseth’s and Trump’s egomaniacal way of doing things.
The Laken Riley Act Used For Deportation
The Laken Riley Act (LRA) being used for deportations is another missed story. The LRA was passed earlier this year and signed into law in late January. It allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport migrants based on arrests for crimes as little as shoplifting – for simply being accused of a crime.
Many civil and immigrant rights groups spoke out against the law before and after its passage as did many journalists. The American Immigration Council (AIC) was one of the more vocal groups saying the law stripped people of their rights and drastically changed the way the U.S. enforces immigration law.
“When our political leaders acquiesce to a cruel vision for mass family separation and deportation, this has harmful consequences for all Americans, because it makes our communities less safe, undercuts our economy, and distracts from commonsense solutions for our broken immigration system,” said Jeremy Robbins, director of the AIC.
In what may be the first invocation of the law, a man in Indiana is facing deportation as local authorities are summoning the Laken Riley Act. Domingo Juan Juan got into a head-on collision that killed 27-year-old Brad Castner in Seymour, Indiana. Jackson County Prosecutor Jeff Chalfant told WRDW that Juan Juan was not speeding or under the influence saying, “Under Indiana law, the only charge available to me is operating a vehicle without ever receiving a license.” The misdemeanor charge is enough to justify deportation under the Laken Riley Act.
I reached out to ICE asking about any information regarding deportations under the Laken Riley Act. I have received no response as of this writing
Migrants Beaten in El Paso
A story by Telemundo that gained traction across social media showed video of migrants who appear to have been beaten in the El Paso Processing Center in El Paso, Texas. The migrants from Venezuela communicated with a woman who then sent the video to Telemundo. In the video, the Venezuelans can be seen with black eyes, bruises, and an open wound on one of their heads. Many of the migrants reported being punched, kicked, and slammed on the ground.
The El Paso unit holds 840 detainees and has a history of abuse and harassment. In 2019, a nearly hour-long video surfaced showing five detention guards in riot gear installing a feeding tube on a prisoner to force feed them in what they called a “calculated use of force.” This comes as torture and abuse are being reported from migrants held at Guantanamo, a facility Trump is expected to expand the use of.
Rubio’s Brown-Nosing Tour
After Trump’s rambling Ukraine debacle last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to go on somewhat of a brown-nosing tour to kiss some of the asses of U.S. allies. While most of the fire extinguishing was done by phone, he made several media appearances where he unequivocally backed Trump reneging on just about everything he’s ever said supporting Ukraine. Under Biden, Rubio was a staunch advocate of sanctioning Russia and cutting it off from the world.
“I think there's a strong commitment to do whatever we can to help Ukraine win, to defeat the Russians, both strategically and operationally,” Rubio told reporters in 2022. Um, and really this is an evolving battlefield. As Russian military tactics evolve, the needs of Ukraine will evolve. And I think there's a strong willingness here on the hill, bipartisan, to provide them whatever it is they need to succeed. And that includes not just munitions, but things like fuel, and and and, food, and medicine.”
Since Trump and Vance’s tirade against Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Rubio has spoken with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský while appearing on news shows. The difference in tone with world leaders compared to how he spoke in interviews with George Stephanopoulos on ABC This Week and Kaitlan Collins of CNN is noticeable.
“Well, I was there yesterday when the President said in front of the media that our approach is going to be trust but verify… So if there’s a chance at peace, even if it’s a 1 percent chance, that needs to be explored – and that’s what President Trump is trying to do here,” Rubio told CNN’s Collins after she asked about whether Putin should be trusted.
However, when speaking to the UK Foreign Secretary, Rubio had a much more passive tone as he did with other world leaders.
“They discussed the need to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both emphasized the importance of European burden-sharing in defense and security efforts and positively noted the UK government’s recent decision to boost defense spending,” reads a readout from the Department of State.
Meanwhile, just as Phase 2 of the ceasefire in Gaza was about to take effect, Rubio signed off on sending Israel $4 billion in military assistance, bringing the total spent to $12 billion under Trump in a little over one month.
“I have signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The decision to reverse the Biden Administration’s partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump.”
He also issued a statement titled “United States Applauds Austria’s Repatriation of Women and Children from Northeast Syria” seeming to celebrate the deportation of two women and three children from Syria saying, “With U.S. assistance, Austria repatriated two women and three children from the Roj displaced persons camp in northeast Syria Saturday, March 1.”
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They accuse mostly essential workers of the usual, as red meat for the trained media to perform their dog tricks, which covers for policy failures and court loses all around papered over with lies, like the abuse of uncharged people in expanding detentions, war mongering on the increasingly militarized border, turbo charging genocide of defenseless civilians in Palestine, and shredding international law by the Rubio handful, while even Congress is not paying attention to “have acted sooner”.