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Donald Trump used his State of the Union Address to vilify immigrants as dangerous, ignoring the violence of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operations throughout the country toward undocumented immigrants and citizens.
DHS has kidnapped people (including children) off the streets, detained them without due process in facilities with substandard conditions, failed to get warrants before entering people’s homes, attacked people who were bystanders, and even killed people who protested DHS’s presence in their communities.
Trump invited guests whose loved ones were attacked by immigrants and used their tragedies to frame all immigrants as potentially dangerous. In reality, several studies confirm that immigrants are less likely than U.S. citizens to engage in violent crime e, a point the president conveniently left out of his missive as he implied they were mostly “criminals” and “murderers.”
Trump also relied on theatrics to hammer his disinformation. At one point, he asked lawmakers to stand up if they agreed with the idea that “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
The nationalistic statement ignores the fact that immigrants in the U.S. are entitled to due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
As Republicans stood up and clapped for over a minute, Trump derided Democrats who stayed seated.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Trump said scornfully.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) yelled back at Trump at that point. “You should be ashamed!” she said.
Along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), Omar also shouted, “You have killed Americans!”
The two later left the House chamber before the end of Trump’s speech.
The lawmakers were referring to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Minneapolis residents who were killed by federal immigration agents. Despite evidence showing no wrongdoing on their parts, the Trump administration wrongly labeled both Good and Pretti as “domestic terrorists” immediately after their deaths.
Trump did not mention either Good’s or Pretti’s names during his speech.
Omar invited Aliya Rahman, a disabled Minneapolis resident, as a guest to the State of the Union. Rahman had been dragged out of her car by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month while she was on her way to a medical appointment. Despite not interfering with ICE agents, Rahman had been detained for several hours, denied medical care, and lost consciousness while in custody.
Rahman was arrested by Capitol police in an aggressive manner for merely standing up during the State of the Union, she recounted.
“There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up. I was arrested for standing up,” she said.
Trump also brought up the current partial government shutdown that is affecting DHS. “I’m demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding” for the department, the president said in his speech.
The president omitted why Democrats were refusing to agree to fund DHS. Democratic leaders have said they are maintaining the shutdown until reforms are passed, including requiring warrants for all arrests, adopting stricter use-of-force policies, requiring agents to show visible identification and not wear masks, and barring immigration agents from entering sensitive locations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals.
Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans, criticized Trump’s self-congratulatory speech.
“The president bragged about his supposed accomplishments in making the country safer — but American communities know the truth. Our cities, neighborhoods, sacred spaces, and homes have been lawlessly attacked by the federal government,” Melaku said. “Throwing children, families, and parents into detention camps and denying them access to counsel before a judge is deeply harmful and violently unconstitutional.”
Shayna Kessler, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice, rejected the president’s remarks on immigration policy.
“We are deeply disturbed by President Trump’s claims that his violent immigration crackdowns are advancing public safety. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Kessler said. “The Trump administration has abused its power by turning the legal immigration system into a cruel and lawless trap, broadly denying people due process and funneling them directly into deportation.”
Most Americans are unhappy with the Trump administration’s crackdowns on immigrant communities, according to polling. A recent Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 58 percent of Americans believe the Trump administration has gone too far in its efforts to deport immigrants. 58 percent also say they disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration in general.
Americans have also expressed a desire to terminate ICE. Per a YouGov poll conducted in January, a plurality of respondents, 46 percent, back abolishing the agency, while 43 percent do not. The figures demonstrate a monumental shift in people’s thinking when it comes to ICE, as polling from last March found that only 23 percent backed reducing or abolishing the agency.
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