They're Coming for U.S. Citizens for the Crime of Being Black or Brown

Trump's fascist policies have already ensnared several U.S. citizens into jail and death camps—and horrifyingly it appears clear it will get worse

Yesterday I wrote about the U.S. Government building concentration camps in El Salvador, where they’re placing legal residents like Kilmar Ábrego García. Today I share that the Trump regime is now escalating their fascism by arresting and deporting U.S. citizens—including those innocent of any wrongdoing. This was never about safety. It was never about security. It was never about “law and order.” It was always about advancing white supremacy. Let’s Address This.

Demonstrators rally during a status hearing in the Ábrego García case in Greenbelt, Maryland on 15 April. Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/EPA

Targeting U.S. Citizens

In Florida, 20-year-old Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez was held in Leon County Jail. His crime? Allegedly entering the state as an “unauthorized alien.” But here’s the twist—Lopez-Gomez is a U.S. citizen. Born in the United States. He showed the judge his U.S. birth certificate. The judge didn’t care. He remained in jail anyway with reports now emerging that he is to be released, finally.

In a healthy democracy, that should be front-page news. In a healthy democracy, judges don’t detain citizens of the United States for having the wrong skin color or last name. But we are no longer in a healthy democracy. We are watching fascism unfold in real time.

And it gets worse.

ICE deported 19-year-old Merwil Gutiérrez, a U.S. citizen, to a concentration camp in El Salvador. No crime. No charges. They knew he wasn’t a target. They shipped him off anyway. This was done in February, and you’re likely just now hearing about it for the first time. This is another example of the failure of corporate media.

Update: Initial reports have been updated to clarify that Gutiérrez was a legal and documented resident with no criminal history, not yet a U.S. Citizen. Accordingly, I am correcting my article to maintain accuracy, and apologize for my oversight. Notwithstanding my error and correction, as I’ve written before, due process of law extends to every person in this country, citizen or not, documented or not.

Let me say that again: The United States government deported an innocent person to a foreign concentration camp.

And for those thinking, “Well, maybe he did something wrong…” I remind you that being guilty of a crime doesn’t justify human trafficking people to foreign torture camps either. The fact that we even need to say that out loud speaks volumes.

This is not a slippery slope. We are already at the bottom. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Trump regime has sent letters to U.S. Citizens to self-deport, only later claiming it was an erroneous letter.

See: DHS tells two American citizens and lawyers to self deport.

See: DHS tells American citizen and doctor to self deport.

Look At Who They Target—And Who They Don’t

Let’s take a step back.

• 1 out of every 7 Signers of the Declaration of Independence was an immigrant.

• 1 out of every 10 members of the First U.S. Congress was an immigrant.

Today? Only 1 out of 33 members of Congress is an immigrant. And the Trump regime is busy sending more immigrants—to concentration camps.

But here’s the point that should send a chill down your spine: They are no longer just targeting immigrants. They are targeting American citizens. If you are brown or Black in this country, your citizenship is not a shield. It is not respected. It is not real in the eyes of the fascists running this system.

And let’s also talk about who they’re not targeting.

There are over 500,000 undocumented white immigrants in the United States. Canadians. Europeans. Some of them overstayed visas, some arrived without documentation at all. But when was the last time you saw ICE raiding their homes, schools, places of worship, or hospitals? You don’t see Ron DeSantis holding them in jail. You don’t see Trump scapegoating them at his rallies.

Why? Because they have what Trump and his ilk prize most: the complexion for protection.

This Is What Fascism Looks Like

If you’ve been waiting for the big red flag—the moment when it’s “official”—you’ve missed it. It already happened. This is what fascism looks like: the state weaponizing law enforcement against its own people, based not on what they’ve done, but on who they are. What starts with immigrants always ends with citizens. What starts at the border always spills into the streets.

They told you it was about "illegals."

Then it was about DACA recipients.

Then it was green a few card holders.

And now it’s birthright citizens.

They are coming for Black and brown Americans next. Not for what they’ve done. But for what they look like.

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 to the April 19th nationwide peaceful protests. 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 passing of the fascist 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 are more critical than ever.

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

This is not the moment to be polite. This is not the moment to play politics. This is the moment to call it what it is: White supremacist fascism.

We must resist it with everything we’ve got—through the courts, through protest, through organizing, through storytelling, through solidarity. Because if we stay silent now, we give our consent. If we minimize now, we normalize. If we delay now, we may not get another chance.

They are coming for U.S. citizens. But the alarm should have sounded when they came for anyone without due process of law. Let this fact move you to action.

Because history is watching—and we will be judged by what we chose to do when they started disappearing our neighbors.