Impeach. Convict. Remove.
Recap of this week in the revolution: Noem attempts to silence free speech. Democrats hold the wrong line on DHS funding. ICE turning empty warehouses into concentration camps.
The good...
Robert Reich, 2015. Image by Kore Chan from Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the Expat (MIT) license.
Kristi Noem has demanded Google, Meta, and other media corporations turn over names of account holders who criticize the ICE-stapo's "enforcement" activities. This is a blatant violation of the right to free speech, and is an attempt to intimidate critics from speaking out against the Trump regime's trampling of human rights.
"It did not have the effect that Longshanks planned."
In a scathing rebuke, Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labor, points to his own numerous social media accounts and invites her to read his previous criticisms. Reich reiterates several of those criticisms of ICE and Noem, reminding her that the actions her department is taking are forbidden by the Constitution, including her request to collect the names of accounts that criticize her and her department.
You and your boss are supposed to be working for me and every other American. You swore an oath. The people of the United States hired the two of you to do your jobs, which doesn’t include spying on us or jailing us or trying to intimidate us or murdering us.
Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labor and professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley
The bad...
At the end of January, Congress approved funding for all but one government agency. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security expired on February 13 because Democrats will not approve more money until new rules for ICE agents are enacted. These rules include requirements for ICE agents to wear body cameras, stop wearing masks, and have a signed judicial warrant before making any arrests.
While it's encouraging to see Democrats hold the line (at least for now), the vast majority of Americans are calling for the complete abolishment of ICE. The agency has been such an absolute disgrace, the only reasonable solution is to shut it down completely. There will always be a need to deport a small number of migrants do violate our laws, but we managed just fine before ICE was created in 2003, and we can do so again without the ICE-stapo.
While the fight in Congress continues, ICE remains fully funded because last year's disgraceful spending bill gave ICE a budget larger than the entire military budget of some of the biggest militaries in the world. As if this massive budget was not enough, the agency also received over $70 billion in total appropriations to fund its unprecedented growth over the past year. This means that ICE has plenty of money to continue to operate for the foreseeable future and ICE agents are still being paid to terrorize communities across the nation. Meanwhile, other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security, such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are no longer being funded, and employees are not being paid.
The ugly...
Warehouse in Surprise, Arizona, that was recently purchased by ICE to turn into a 1,500-bed detention center.
ICE is buying up warehouses around the country to turn into detention centers, and trying to hide their intentions from the surrounding communities. These warehouses are designed to hold goods that will eventually be shipped out to consumers. They are not designed to house people, but the Trump regime is planning to convert them to immigrant concentration camps, adding to the hundreds of detention facilities that already exist nationwide.
The agency is already under investigation for inhumane conditions in its existing facilities. ICE concentration camps are filthy, unsafe, and disease-ridden hell-holes where residents are frequently traumatized, malnourished, denied their constitutional rights, and physically and mentally abused by agents.
Although ICE is trying to hide their intentions for these facilities until after their purchase, communities are catching on and organizing to fight back. Pressure from local communities has led some local governments to put a moratorium on approvals for any new detention facilities, effectively blocking ICE from building such concentration camps in their communities for many years to come.
What can you do this week?
Red knit hat with the Latin phrase "In vindiciam libertatis" (in defense of liberty) on a red, white, and blue banner. $17.99 on Printify
Minnesotans have been knitting red hats to wear in protest of the Trump regime and the murder of American citizens in the streets of Minneapolis by federal agents. Why red hats? Because they've been a symbol of resistance to tyranny since World War II.
In the 1940s, Norway was occupied by Nazi troops. The resistance movement in Norway used red hats as a symbol of non-violent defiance against Nazi occupation. These hats represented democracy, unity, and menneskeverd (A Norwegian word for "the value of the human being" or "human dignity"). The symbol rapidly gained traction until, on February 26, 1942, wearing red hats was outlawed by the Nazi occupation authorities.
Today, this symbol is being revived in the United States to protest the inhumane treatment of Americans (citizens and non-citizens alike) by agents of the Trump regime. If you have a red hat (one that doesn't have "MAGA" written on it), especially a knit hat, wear it with pride on February 26th and beyond to show your support for menneskeverd around the world.
Sounds of the revolution...
schmoyoho and The Gregory Brothers [Link]
Shamrocks & Shenanigans [Link]
On the lighter side...
