Trump Goes Full Fascist In Rounding Up Americans

To ban Black and brown immigrants, the Trump regime is eliminating due process, the last obstacle before full on autocratic rule

I cannot believe I am writing these words, but we need to document these receipts.

The Trump regime is rounding up and deporting Americans to an El Salvador torture camp—all without a warrant, charge, access to counsel, or conviction before a court of law. I use the word “American” on purpose, because for some reason, MAGAs refuse to understand that every person in the United States has due process rights, regardless of status. I have documented this fact in detail. Therefore, deporting anyone without due process of law is the exact same as deporting a United States citizen without due process of law.

In response to my recent condemnation of Donald Trump’s mass immigration raids, a MAGA supporter replied with that refrain:

This oft repeated sentiment is factually wrong. Even worse, it serves as a dangerous propaganda claim to whitewash fascism while Trump destroys due process of law in America. Let’s Address This.

In fascist form, a prison guard transfers deportees from the U.S., alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, to the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (Photo Credit: El Salvador presidential press office via AP)

Trump’s War on Black and Brown Immigrants

Here I documented just five examples of the Trump regime targeting legal and documented residents of the United States. They all have something in common—they’re majority Black and brown. As the receipts below show you, Trump only objects to non-white immigration.

1. Latino Americans Are Being Denied Due Process—And Deported Without Charges

Trump is rounding up and sending hundreds of people to a known torture camp in El Salvador, all without due process. No charges. No trials. Just a presumption of guilt based on their ethnicity or language or neighborhood. When Trump’s border Czar Tom Homan was asked what evidence exists to deport these individuals, and what precedent exists to deny them due process, Homan refused to answer. Fortunately, a Federal court Judge Patricia Millet has blocked Trump’s fascist deportations while slamming his actions, stating:

There were plane loads of people. There were no procedures in place to notify people. Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act. There's no regulations, and nothing was adopted by the agency officials that were administering this. They people weren't given notice. They weren't told where they were going. They were given those people on those planes on that Saturday and had no opportunity to file habeas or any type of action to challenge the removal under the AEA. (emphasis added)

White supremacy is when the US Government treats genocidal Nazis better than it treats ordinary residents who have been charged with no crime whatsoever. The next four examples further prove this point.

2. Mahmoud Khalil Is Here Legally—Trump Is Trying to Deport Him Anyway

Mahmoud Khalil is a legal U.S. resident. He has a green card. He has no criminal record. Yet he was recently abducted by ICE agents without a warrant, stripped of his rights, and is being held in an undisclosed location. Why? Because he dared to speak out in support of Palestinian human rights. This is not a case of someone “breaking the law.” This is the U.S. government targeting a legal immigrant for his political views. That's fascism, plain and simple. Read my full analysis of his abduction here.

3. Asylum Is Legal Immigration—Trump Is Blocking It

The right to seek asylum is enshrined in both U.S. and international law. Yet Trump and his allies have moved to ban asylum and continue to vilify asylum seekers, portraying them as criminals and invaders. In truth, seeking asylum is not only legal—it’s a human right. But Trump’s policies have made it nearly impossible, turning away desperate people fleeing violence and persecution. So much for “legal immigration.”

4. Afghan Refugees Were Vetted to Legally Enter—Trump Blocked Them

Trump arbitrarily blocked more than 1,660 Afghan refugees—many of whom risked their lives to help U.S. troops. These allies were thoroughly vetted and approved to enter the United States legally. These are not “illegal immigrants.” They are individuals who were promised safety by the U.S. government, only to be abandoned when they needed us most. They did everything right, and were banned anyway.

5. More Than 530,000 Immigrants Were Are Legally—Trump Just Revoked Their Status

More than half a million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans were granted legal protection to live in the United States. The Trump regime just stripped away that protection. These individuals didn’t “break the law”—they followed it, trusted it, and were legally permitted to be here. And now they’re being targeted for removal solely because of who they are. Incidentally, we know there are more than 500,000 undocumented mostly white Canadian and European immigrants in the United States. When was the last time you saw Trump send ICE after them? Never, because unlike Black and brown immigrants, they have the complexion for protection.

Let’s Call This What It Is

It has never been about legal vs. illegal immigration. Trump’s policies make it painfully clear that this is about race. About using the legal system as a weapon to exclude, to erase, and to persecute people who are not white. And by the way, right wing media is fully on board with the creation of a white ethno-state. Just this week, Brian Kilmeade of Fox News spewed, while referring to mass deportations of immigrants of color:

It's not practical to think that we can do due process on 8 million people. There's 22 million people here at minimum, illegal already. If we are going to give ever these guys a day in court and a lawyer, we can't do it, they don't deserve it.

This is absolutely fascism. Due process is not an optional topping at Chipotle, it’s a guaranteed foundational principle of our Constitution. To forsake due process is to forsake the American experiment altogether. And given that the MAGA party believes in the death penalty, how long before "Its not practical to do due process on 8 million people" means mass murdering them? If you can arbitrarily arrest and disappear a person, and eliminate due process, what is to stop genocide?

What Can We Do?

We are not helpless, and we can act. Some of the seven action items below have immediate effect and others take time. Some require financial investment, others require time investment. All of them matter and I ask you to do what you can.

1. Activate

Get involved in your local politics. Whether it is your local school board, your local city council, or your local immigrant rights organization—get involved. Show up to the next meeting, meet your local elected officials, and understand the local issues impacting your community. Google is your friend in finding a local calendar of events. Use it. All politics is local, and it is critical you get involved locally.

2. Communicate

Contact your member of Congress (find them here) and relentlessly remind them that you do not support mass deportations. Instead, you do support due process of law, a humane immigration policy, and equal rights for immigrants. Ensure they hear your outrage as much as possible.

3. Invest

Invest your time and your money into the people and organizations doing the front line work. If you have time to volunteer, make phone calls, knock doors, and sign petitions, do so. If you have the financial resources to donate to organizations working to protect our democracy, like the Chicago based National Immigrant Justice Center, please do so.

4. Educate

It is critical we remain informed on the key issues, by educating ourselves and those around us. As corporate media sadly continues to capitulate to fascism, support writers and human rights lawyers working to stop fascism in America (e.g. like yours truly). Read the work of non-profit media like ProPublica, The Appeal, and more. We may not have the billions of dollars in dark money from corporate autocrats, but we have strength in numbers and your support makes that difference.

5. Organize

Bring friends with you. You are the best ambassador for justice in your friend group—lead by example. Grab even one friend and drag them with you to the next school board meeting, city council session, or town hall in your local community. We need to build organizational capacity, and means each one reaches one to get involved. (And when your friend comes to the second meeting, it is their opportunity to reach one more and bring them with).

6. Sanctuary Locations

During the previous Trump administration, reports estimate 800 or more churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship established themselves as sanctuary locations for immigrants. These are locations that invited immigrants who feared deportation to remain within their walls for housing, food, and safety. To be clear, these sanctuary locations have no particular legal authority, and ICE agents can still procure a warrant to search sanctuary locations and arrest anyone a judge has authorized for arrest.

However, certain faith groups established sanctuary locations anyway as another line of protection and safety for those fearing such raids, which required ICE to have to make the decision of whether they want to violently raid a house of worship. And given the imminent passing of the Laken Riley Act, which allows authorities to arrest and deport immigrants on the mere accusation of a crime³—including petty and non-violent crimes like shoplifting—sanctuary locations may see an increase in this Trump administration.

7. Repeal 287g Agreements

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 added Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act. This authorized ICE to force state and local police to do what ICE wants them to do—in this case, round up immigrants.⁴ In other words, 287g agreements allow federal ICE officers to require local and state police officers to work for them. These agreements are why it’s incredibly risky to call local police on immigration issues. Currently, ICE has some form of a 287g agreement with hundreds of police departments across 25 states—which I have uploaded here for your convenience.

Here’s the key call to action: 287g agreements cannot go into effect until local government approves their enforcement. That means, if your locality has a 287g agreement in place, it is because your local elected officials voted for it. Therefore, they can be repealed with that same local authority. So, if you live in one of the states or localities listed above, advocate to your city council, mayor, or relevant governing authority to repeal this harmful agreement and instead uphold meaningful justice.

Conclusion

Due process of law is the foundation of protecting America’s residents against tyrannical government. MAGA is tearing it down to install Trumpian autocracy. If we want a future where justice actually means something, we must be unapologetic in calling out this fascism—and even more relentless in organizing against it. Let’s fight for an America where the rules apply equally on the tenets of justice, regardless of your race, religion, or birthplace.

Because if we don’t, then believe when I write that fascism is a one way street, and there’s no coming back.