Donald Trump delivers his first speech to Congress
THE TRUMP administration is planning to create a new agency inside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) whose main purpose is to inflame xenophobia and spread the lie that immigrants are likely to be violent criminals.
Trump first called for the creation of the VOICE (Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement) Office in his January 25 executive order. The details of how this order would be carried out were released a month later in a memo issued by DHS Director John Kelly. The order and Kelly's memo establish three priorities for VOICE:
First, act as a liaison between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and "known victims of crimes committed by removable aliens," providing information to victims and their families about the immigration and custody status of the alleged offenders.
Second, issue monthly reports of "statistical data regarding aliens apprehended by ICE," including a wide variety of information concerning the alleged offenders' countries of origin, criminal history, gang affiliation, prior immigration violations, etc.
Third, issue weekly reports concerning "non-Federal jurisdictions that release aliens from their custody, notwithstanding that such aliens are subject to a detainer or similar request for custody issued by ICE to that jurisdiction"--in other words, to name and shame sanctuary jurisdictions for refusing to cooperate with deportation efforts. As outlined in Kelly's memo, this report, too, will contain as much information as possible about the alleged offenders.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
VOICE IS being proposed as a solution to something that few people outside the right wing's bubble think is a problem: that crime victims aren't given enough information about the immigration status of the alleged offenders. According to the DHS memo:
Criminal aliens routinely victimize Americans and other legal residents. Often, these victims are not provided adequate information about the offender, the offender's immigration status, or any enforcement action taken by ICE against the offender. Efforts by ICE to engage these victims have been hampered by prior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy extending certain Privacy Act protections to persons other than U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, leaving victims feeling marginalized and without a voice.
This is pure demagoguery. If someone is victimized by, for example, a drunk driver, their concern is with the criminal act of drunk driving, not the immigration status of the driver. Not being aware a driver's immigration status doesn't make them any more marginalized or "voiceless" than not knowing the driver's religion or political affiliation.
The same principle applies to any crime, however serious: From the standpoint of seeking justice for victims and their loved ones, the immigration status of the offenders can make no possible difference.
It can, however, have considerable political value, and this is surely what Trump and Kelly are seeking to exploit.
There is an undeniable emotional power to claiming to the family of a murder victim that their loved one's killer "never should have been in the country to begin with." The shock and grief resulting from this news can easily be used for propaganda purposes: Even if the grieving family do not themselves become activists against "criminal aliens," their story can still be exploited to encourage others to follow this path.
It was for precisely this reason that, when announcing the creation of VOICE in his February 28 joint address to Congress, Trump pointed out "four very brave Americans" in the audience, all of whom have lost loved ones to violent crimes allegedly perpetrated by undocumented immigrants.
This, apparently, is what it means to "give a voice" to such people: trotting them out for an internationally televised event and publicly exploiting their grief and loss in order to further your own racist anti-immigrant agenda.
The executive order that gave rise to VOICE also directs the DHS to "prioritize the removal" of undocumented immigrants in a variety of categories, including those who have been convicted of a crime, charged with a crime--or committed "acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense," but have not been charged or otherwise pose a threat to public safety or national security "in the judgment of an immigration officer."
The effect of these guidelines, in short, is to declare any undocumented immigrant whom an ICE agent thinks is a criminal to be a criminal.
It remains to be seen whether this very broad conception of "crime" will be carried over into the reports produced by VOICE compiling "statistical data" about crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and weekly reports concerning the non-cooperation of sanctuary jurisdictions. The possibility is certainly there--notice, for instance, that VOICE's monthly report will provide statistics about people apprehended by ICE.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FROM THE earliest days of his presidential campaign, Trump declared loudly and often that the U.S. is experiencing an epidemic of crime committed by undocumented immigrants, and he cultivated alliances with racist anti-immigration groups and individuals.
Now that he's in power, Trump's executive order is an attempt to criminalize immigration itself--and VOICE is the poison he wants to pump into the culture to get people to go along with it.
One of Trump's key allies in this effort is Maria Espinoza, co-founder and National Director of the Remembrance Project, a Houston-based organization that "advocates for families whose loved ones were killed by illegal aliens," most notably by adding their names and images to its "Stolen Lives Quilt."
According to Espinoza's biography on the project's website--which doesn't mention her ties to white nationalists like John Tanton--she has worked since 2009 to "unite the 'stolen lives' families, educating the public of the epidemic of killings across the country, and raising the awareness of the effects of illegal immigration. It is not a victimless crime."
This brief passage lays bare the two lies at the heart of the Remembrance Project, and of Trump's own agenda: First, that undocumented immigrants are responsible for an "epidemic of killings across the country"; and second, that illegal immigration itself leads to violent crime.
In fact, research has consistently shown that immigrants are statistically less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans, and that there is either no correlation between crime rates and levels of immigration. If anything, crime rates appear to decrease as immigration levels rise.
But even if immigrants were not less likely to commit crimes, VOICE would still be cause for concern. The clear intent of these measures is to stoke public hatred of immigrants--and the administration's rhetoric about "upholding the laws of this nation" is a coded racist message aimed at that end.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE UNVEILING of VOICE immediately--and rightly--prompted comparisons to Nazi Germany. As Peter Beinart wrote in The Atlantic:
In The Nazi Conscience, Duke historian Claudia Koonz notes that the Nazi newspaper Der Strmer ran a feature called "Letter Box," which published readers' accounts of Jewish crimes. When the Nazis took power, the German state began doing something similar. Frustrated by the failure of most Germans to participate in a boycott of Jewish businesses in April 1933, Adolf Hitler's government began publicizing Jewish crime statistics as a way of stoking anti-Semitism.
In Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution, the historian Saul Friedlander notes that, until 1938, Hitler's Ministry of Justice ordered prosecutors to forward every criminal indictment against a Jew so the ministry's press office could publicize it.
The parallels between the Nazis' use of crime statistics and those contemplated by VOICE are troubling enough. But because of its status as a "legitimate" government agency, VOICE's programs also have the potential to inject into the mainstream the propaganda of far-right publications and websites that are the modern-day equivalent of Der Strmer's.
These publications have already managed to do great harm. For instance, Dylann Roof, the anti-Black terrorist who slaughtered nine people in a South Carolina church in 2015, acknowledges that he he came across "pages upon pages of these brutal Black on white murders" on the website of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), a notorious white supremacist organization.
In Roof's case, the connection between racist "reporting" of crimes and violence is unusually direct and explicit. But if his story is an extreme case, it is by no means unique. And, of course, the CCC is far from the only such group publishing lists of the alleged crimes of nonwhite Americans, as we've already seen with the Remembrance Project.
Notably, Breitbart News, when it was under the leadership of Trump's current chief strategist Steve Bannon, responded to the Black Lives Matter movement by gathering stories of alleged crimes committed by African Americans under the "Black Crime" tag.
These sites are notorious for cherry-picking their stories for maximum effect and publishing false or misleading information. One reason they've found a wide audience is that "Black-on-white" crime is also overreported in the more "respectable" media.
Now Trump, Bannon and Kelly want the U.S. government to get in on the act. We shouldn't let them get away with it.
Originally posted here:
This VOICE tells racist lies - Socialist Worker Online
- Not Victimless: Understanding the harmful effects of ... [Last Updated On: December 10th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 10th, 2016]
- State crime - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: December 10th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 10th, 2016]
- Types of Crimes - Overview and Discussion [Last Updated On: December 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 31st, 2016]
- Victimless Crime Constitutes 86% of The Federal Prison ... [Last Updated On: January 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 8th, 2017]
- Arizona and California Auto Insurance Fraud Busts - Claims Journal - Claims Journal [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Police aim to prevent prostitution, human trafficking - Woburn Daily Times [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Campaigners say Rabobank should face trial for 'crimes against ... - DutchNews.nl [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Meth arrests, seizures surge in Bowling Green | News | bgdailynews ... - Bowling Green Daily News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- 7 arrested for auto insurance fraud scheme - KESQ [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Bitcoin, Stop Apologizing for Victimless Crime - Nigeria Today [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Perfectionism Is Insanity And Impossible To Accomplish - Being Libertarian [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Family of Collision Repair Shop Owners Allegedly Scammed Insurers Out of $560000 - BodyShop Business [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- High rates of parental incarceration among African-Americans means that criminal justice reform is now education reform - USAPP American Politics and... [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Owners of Seven California Collision Repair Shops Allegedly Scammed Insurers Out of $560000 - BodyShop Business [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Cop Block Founder Ademo Freeman Arrested in Ohio for Drug Trafficking/Possession VIDEO - Free Keene [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Hinds County and Morton police team up on 11 drug arrests - Jackson Clarion Ledger [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Teddy bears, food packaging and family photos: The huge illegal ... - shropshirestar.com [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- 3 juveniles sentenced for starting fire at MCDI in Springfield - wwlp.com [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Hadi's Bill opens doors for disproportionate punishments, constitutional expert says - Malay Mail Online [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Call to tackle rural crime as farmers 'soft targets' | UTV - ITV News - ITV News [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Open letter to MPs on Hadi's Bill - Malay Mail Online [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Law enforcement, advocacy groups work to stop sex trafficking in the Fox Valley - WGBA-TV [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Malaysia: Hundreds of thousands expected to join mass rally calling for greater Syariah laws - Asian Correspondent [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Rural crime figures are a concern - Farming Life [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- 'Simply unacceptable': Northern Irish farmers remain soft targets for ... - FarmingUK [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- What People Are Saying About Homeland Security's Plan to Crack Down on Immigrants - Phoenix New Times [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Stubbing out illegal cigarettes will help plug SA's budget deficit - Business Day (registration) [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Your tip sheet: No sanctuary - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- A Map of Corruption in France - Big Think [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Inside The Quiet, Prophetic Politics Of Theologian C.S. Lewis - The Federalist [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- JAILED: Drug and gambling addict brought misery to train passengers - Eastwood Advertiser [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Drug addict Lucas Niewiem had cannabis farm above child's bedroom AND stole railway cable - Derby Telegraph [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Jewish community rallies against anti- Semitic attacks - San Diego Jewish World [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Efficiency And Effectiveness: Our Approach To Primary Markets - Speech By Christopher Woolard, Executive Director ... - Exchange News Direct [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- With few safeguards, Jewish cemeteries make easy targets for vandals - Jweekly.com [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Number of suspected child sex offenders in Bedfordshire almost ... - Bedfordshire News [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Philadelphia unions offer to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery - Arutz Sheva [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Breastfeeding bills aim to help children of incarcerated mothers - NMPolitics.net [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- John Klar: Scott plays both sides in marijuana debate - vtdigger.org [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Families of victims of Colombia's paramilitaries get their day in US court - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Preserving stories from Mt. Carmel - South Philly Review [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Legislature should ensure juries know their options - St. George Daily Spectrum [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- How to End the War on Cops and Restore our Liberties at the Same Time - Being Libertarian [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Museum collects stories to show vandalized gravestones are more than just toppled rock - Newsworks.org [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- The Sessions Scandal Exposes the Racist Double Standard of Trump's 'Law and Order' - AlterNet [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Feelings of vulnerability fomenting among local Jewish community ... - fox2now.com [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- For Democrats, How Many American Victims Are Enough? - Townhall [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- How to Reverse Incarceration in Louisiana: Thirteen Steps to Stop Being First in Being Last - Common Dreams [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Welch State Police Detachment welcomes new commanders - Bluefield Daily Telegraph [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Legislature boosts penalties for prostitution-related crimes - Deseret News [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Wisconsin Veterinarian sentenced 4 years for labor, sex trafficking - Woodbury Bulletin [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Stop looking at child abuse online - get help now - Falkirk Herald - Falkirk Herald [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Convenience stores count the cost of retail crime - Talking Retail - Talking Retail [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Groton man who robbed Old Lyme bank on a bike sentenced to five years - theday.com [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Robert King sobs as he's spared jail for possessing thousands of images of child abuse - Somerset Live [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- LA councilman targets 'knock-knock' burglars with $50,000 reward - LA Daily News [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Vehicle covered with anti-Muslim slurs in Rundle; police say hateful ... - Calgary Herald [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- At Issue: Should Cobb County consider uniform public comment rules? - Atlanta Journal Constitution [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Spend tax dollars on addiction wisely - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Jeff Sessions & David Shapiro & the Rule of Law | National Review - National Review [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Schenectady man sentenced to 7 years in prison for child porn - Albany Times Union [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Making Whitefish best it can be - The Missoulian [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Letter: Judges should get say in drug sentencing - Times Herald-Record [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Allison Hanes: Disgrace is the deterrent for Applebaum - Montreal Gazette [Last Updated On: June 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 8th, 2017]
- Independent business owners thank police and the ECHO for ending burglary "epidemic" - Liverpool Echo [Last Updated On: June 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 8th, 2017]
- Hertfordshire Copp family jailed for 27 years for 45 million payroll tax fraud - Hertfordshire Mercury [Last Updated On: June 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 9th, 2017]
- Police hunting rail cable thieves who caused travel disruptions in Sheffield - The Star [Last Updated On: June 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 9th, 2017]
- Alleged Yahoo hacker Karim Baratov will stay in jail as he awaits extradition hearing - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: June 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 9th, 2017]
- Rockland's chief detective retiring after 45 years investigating murders, corruption - The Journal News / Lohud.com [Last Updated On: June 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 9th, 2017]
- Accused hacker will remain in custody after appeal of bail decision ... - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News [Last Updated On: June 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 10th, 2017]
- The extent to which a state should exist - Being Libertarian [Last Updated On: June 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 11th, 2017]
- Man gets 8 years for pandering - Martins Ferry Times Leader [Last Updated On: June 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 14th, 2017]
- Child porn, prostitution sting nets 4 | News, Sports, Jobs - Leader ... - Gloversville Leader-Herald [Last Updated On: June 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 14th, 2017]
- Rebel With a Cause: The One Conservative Who Voted For Legal Pot - Marijuana.com [Last Updated On: June 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 14th, 2017]
- Students For Liberty's Ethan Pritchard wants students to have carry-conceal on campus - Rare.us [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2017]
- Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Crash That Killed Chehalis Motorcyclist - Centralia Chronicle [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2017]
- Sporting clubs devastated by senseless vandalism - Coffs Coast Advocate [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2017]
- Man had indecent images of children on his mobile phone - South Wales Argus [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2017]
- Cwmbran man had 132 indecent images of children on his mobile ... - South Wales Argus [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2017]
- Stolen vehicles in Pueblo contribute to higher insurance rates - Pueblo Chieftain [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2017]