This is like something out of a dystopian novel you read in high school, back before the geniuses in Albany determined reading novels was of no importance. This is an American citizen detained indefinitely with no warrant and no reason. He was sorely tempted to "self-deport" himself to Mexico simply to escape the squalor in which he found himself.
Can you imagine not having a shower in 23 days? Trump's goons will liken this treatment to summer camp, but the fact is it's worse treatment than prisoners get. In Donald Trump's American, murderers get better treatment than immigrants. In fact, in Donald Trump's America, murderers get better treatment than citizens guilty of looking like immigrants.
Of course, 23 days is what this young man faced. His time was cut short only because a paper decided to publicize his plight. How many others have faced it longer, and for how long? What's Trump's solution to that? Well, he attacks the free press relentlessly. Anything he doesn't like is "fake news." Anything that is remotely critical of him is fake news.
If these aren't police state tactics, I have no idea what are. If you think you're protected because you're white, you have another thing coming. What do you think the consequences are when our leaders attack truth tellers? Donald Trump openly encourages violence against his enemies at his rallies. He even suggests he'll pay for the lawyers of those who commit violence.
As for ICE, their defense is laughable:
"While we continue to research the facts of the situation, this individual has been released from ICE custody. Both CBP and ICE are committed to the fair treatment of migrants in our custody and continue to take appropriate steps to verify all facts of this situation."
In the United States, we are supposedly innocent until proven guilty. Do you detect a presumption of innocence in that statement? I don't. I see an agency that, even after being publicly humiliated by the Dallas News, sticks to its guns and claims there is some gray area. And how does ICE treat people?
Galicia says he lost 26 pounds during that time in a South Texas immigrant detention center because officers didn’t provide him with enough food.
That's simply unconscionable. How can we treat our fellow humans like this? Trumpies will say they're immigrants, they broke the law, and this is what they get. The fact is it's perfectly legal to seek asylum. The fact is if we and our families were suffering like those in Central America, we'd seek alternatives too. Another fact is USA has played an important role in enabling these miserable conditions. Remember First They Came?
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Who will speak for us if we don't speak loudly, and speak now?
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