Immigration as the “Tip of the Spear” for Administration’s Broader Assaults on Fellow Americans and Democratic Pillars

Access online version of this press release HERE

Washington, DC — Despite a Trump-appointed federal judge blocking the administration’s attempt to deploy out-of-state National Guard troops to Oregon, the Trump administration continues to escalate its efforts and threats to deploy American troops to U.S. cities using the guise of immigration. Meanwhile, as Judd Legum writes in his Popular Information newsletter, ICE is “terrorizing American citizens” in these same cities.

The following is a statement from Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice taking stock:

“From day one, we’ve said that immigration is the ‘tip of the spear’ – often the excuse – for this administration’s broader assault on core democratic pillars, their political opponents, and the rule of law. It’s now playing out before our eyes.

Using the pretext of concern over ICE facilities and personnel – as Stephen Miller noted in a disturbing social media post this weekend – the Trump administration is working feverishly to normalize the domestic deployment of the U.S. military in American cities. The deployments are against the will of those communities, their elected representatives, members of our military and the US Constitution. That apparently does not matter to this administration.

President Trump made it clear last week what this is all about: the ‘enemy within’ and their actions define that as our neighbors and friends; parents and children; and U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike, such as those targeted at last week’s unconscionable ICE raid of a Chicago apartment building that MSNBC’s Chris Hayes called, ‘the most egregious abuse of our basic rights as Americans I’ve seen in a long time, maybe in my lifetime.’

Americans did not vote for this, they do not support these extreme invasions of our homes and communities, and they certainly don’t support using the military to intimidate American communities. In the face of these deliberate provocations, cruelties, and efforts to keep our nation divided, Americans from all backgrounds must send the message: this is not who we are.”