in mode In a historic move for fascist regimes, President Donald Trump’s administration sent federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to raid the home of a political opponent singled out for race and religion in an apparent effort to strip her of her citizenship.
Agents from ICE’s investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations, on Monday conducted a search warrant at the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, in an intrusion that federal officials said was part of an “ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
Homeland Security Intelligence was previously known for its work against human traffickers, drug smugglers and war criminals. But under the second Trump administration, the department has become increasingly focused on investigating protesters and immigration fraud.
The latter category is what Trump administration officials have biasedly applied to Omar for months. In March, Vice President J.D. Vance said: “We actually believe that Ilhan Omar certainly committed immigration fraud against the United States of America.”
Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said “something is going to happen” in Omar’s case, and immigration czar Tom Homan confirmed an investigation was underway.
However, ICE’s raid on Omar is an extremist escalation in Trump’s longstanding threat to strip the congressman of his citizenship. Omar was born in Somalia but came to the United States as a refugee when she was a child. Omar, who has denied repeated accusations of immigration fraud, is on a re-election vote in November.
The raid not only sends chills to all naturalized citizens like Omar who oppose the Trump regime, but it is also one of the most ominous signs yet of how dangerous Trump and his aides will become in the next two years.
With his approval ratings declining and his grip on power increasingly fragile, Trump is becoming a crumbling tyrant. At the same time, he was granted extraordinary executive powers by a loyal Supreme Court and removed nearly all checks and balances from the federal government. This is what causes great harm.
A naked fascist move
The debate about whether the Trump regime qualifies as a fascist regime is outdated, old, and not worth revisiting here.
There is no doubt, though, that deporting a racialized political opponent three weeks before an election is a nakedly fascist move — especially against the backdrop of increasingly vitriolic far-right attacks on Somali communities across the country.
“Minnesota is being taken over by Somali immigrants,” Trump wrote in a “Truth Society” post last week. “Somali people should not be allowed to get away with it. They think you are weak and stupid. Fight back Minnesota, fight back!”
This is tantamount to calling for a race war.
As his popular support continues to decline, we can be sure that the president and his white supremacist cabinet will consolidate the power of the federal government in a more fascist manner.
As the raid itself showed, many of the tools to stop Trump have been weakened.
We cannot rely on the courts. For example, the search warrant to search Omar’s home was signed by a judge.
In fact, the justice system allows for a wealth of Trump’s anti-immigration behavior. Courts have also sent activists to prison for decades for taking part in protests against the federal government. And, while some federal judges and even the Supreme Court have delayed some of Trump’s agenda, the courts have also protected the president from impunity. We also know that this administration routinely ignores court orders because they know they will not face consequences.
There could be no greater optimism on the part of Congress. Even if Democrats take back Congress in November, they will have to face an embattled, authoritarian executive branch and a well-funded standing militia known as ICE.
Democrats should unite to stop Trump from unlawfully expelling a colleague based on a racist witch hunt, but we don’t expect Congress to take any action beyond a damning statement. In fact, too many centrist Democrats are happy to throw colleagues on the left, especially Muslims like Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., to the wolves.
Elected leaders, from the national to the municipal level, should strategize about how to protect voters from Trump’s worst extremes, knowing that the situation will escalate further from Trump and his allies. Yes, impeachment should be a priority, but so should, among other measures, legally disbanding and defunding ICE — something that mainstream Democrats refuse to support.
If not the courts or elected leaders, then what? The answer is clear: Trump’s desperate authoritarianism must also be met with popular and radical opposition.
It’s not enough to vote in November and pray for another two years.
It’s not enough to vote in November and pray for another two years. Organizers on the front lines protecting immigrant neighbors from ICE are exhausted and need numbers and support.
Activists facing trial or having been sentenced to decades in prison for resisting the Trump regime need continued legal support and funding. Being ready is what it’s all about.
This is not to say that we must live in fear of a constantly delusional tyrant. Instead, the focus is on recognizing the danger and moving on.
Resistance to Trump, border regimes, and racist state violence already exists; it must be supported, expanded, and made the subject of our own escalation.