What is it with the try-hard sociopaths who apparently comprise America’s immigration roundup Gestapo? What is it with these NKVD agents pursuing the brave law enforcement mission of snatching up defenseless grandmothers, zip-tying the hands of children in courthouse hallways, and bundling innocent people off to Salvadoran gulags to rot away for who knows how long? Did their mothers not hug them enough? Did they wash out of every legit law enforcement agency in the country and fetch up on the undiscriminating shores of America’s suddenly robust deportation machine, from whence they can pursue their sadomasochistic desires to bully people who can’t fight back?
Guys, if your kink is domination involving handcuffs, there are underground clubs where you can do that sort of thing. You won’t even need to dress up like Special Forces soldiers invading Fallujah when you’re rounding up some poor undocumented cashier at a grocery store in the Poconos.
Take the officers who last week barged into the Manhattan office of Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler in pursuit of some legal observers and wound up handcuffing an office aide while she wept in fear. Great work, fellas, all of America stands in awe of your bravery. You’ll never have to buy a drink again, though that’s mostly because Nuremberg doesn’t have a bar.
The incident took place in a Manhattan building that houses both Nadler’s office and the federal immigration court. As you know if you have been watching the news or reading Wonkette, the deportation police of ICE and whatever other federal agencies have been drafted into these roundups have been hanging around courtrooms to grab up migrants who have followed the fucking rules and shown up for various hearings as their applications for asylum and citizenship wend their way through America’s byzantine legal system.
The latest trick, in fact, has been to get federal prosecutors to dismiss these cases, making the defendants immediately into undocumented migrants that ICE officers can then handcuff as soon as they leave the courtroom. We guess it beats working for a living.
ICE’s One Weird Trick To Deport Asylum Seekers Who Come To Court!
Anyway, last Wednesday ICE was pulling off its “Brave Sir Robin” routine at the federal immigration court in Manhattan. A couple of immigration rights advocates were there to observe the proceedings and offer legal aid to the immigrants as they were arrested. The cops, probably irritated that they couldn’t just start bashing skulls, threatened to arrest the advocates for loitering.
At some point, a Nadler aide happened by and invited the advocates up to the congressman’s office, which is located one floor above the court. For some reason, officers of the Federal Protective Service, which provides security for federal buildings, then went up to Nadler’s office and demanded entrance. At least one aide said no, got into an argument, and then this happened:
Look at how excited the FPS officers are to have something to do besides say, “Please empty your pockets and put everything in this tray.”
If you watch the video, you will hear one of the officers tell a Nadler aide that the congressman’s staff was “harboring rioters” in the office. DHS released a statement on Saturday claiming the officers had information there were “protesters” there. It’s unclear what about “advising people of their legal rights before ICE slaps handcuffs on them and hauls them away” could be construed as protesting or rioting. Probably one of the advocates asked one of ICE’s plainclothes officers to show his badge and he took offense that someone was trying to act as if due process and accountability are still a thing in Donald Trump’s America.
The handcuffed aide was not arrested, even though one of the cops accused her of pushing him. We have our doubts that some wisp of a girl tried to push an armed officer, especially since it seems pretty clear they were scaring the shit out of her.
Nadler released a statement calling the incident “deeply troubling” and pronouncing himself “alarmed by the aggressive and heavy-handed tactics” that DHS is using as it pursues its immigration roundup. Entering his office in particular showed a “deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries.”
It’s not the strongest statement available, but Nadler will be 78 in a week, has been sick, and is annoyingly laconic on his best days.
Nadler also told The New York Times that the Trump administration is “behaving like fascists.” Buddy, no, they are fascists. There is simply no other way to describe armed agents wearing face gaiters to conceal their identity as they manhandle unarmed and peaceful migrants. Particularly migrants who, as we noted before, were following the rules and showing up for court hearings.
On Monday, Nadler upped the ante by sending Jim Jordan a letter requesting the House Judiciary Committee investigate and hold hearings into what exactly happened. We’re sure Jordan will get right on that like it’s an accusation of sexual abuse by an Ohio State wrestling coach.
For an absolutely infuriating reaction by a high-level Democrat, however, it is hard to imagine anyone beating Hakeem Jeffries:
We just … what? Did he not actually hear the question? Is this one of those things where he zoned out, didn’t know what he was being asked, so he went to a stock emergency answer?
Honey, does this dress make me look fat?
Um, we will make that decision in a time, place, and manner of our choosing. But the response will be continuous, and it will meet the moment that is required.
Inspiring stuff!
Something else to remember is that by grabbing all this low-hanging fruit in courthouses and restaurant kitchens, ICE and its sundry affiliates have been making in the neighborhood of 1,000 arrests per day, which is up from the 700 or so per day they were averaging in February and March. Last week, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem called a meeting with immigration officials to yell at them to triple their daily average, to 3,000 arrests per day. Or else!
Hilariously, people in the meeting leaked details of it to the Washington Examiner:
“Stephen Miller wants everybody arrested. ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?’” the official recited.
One of the ERO officials in attendance stood up and stated that the Department of Homeland Security and the White House had publicly messaged about targeting criminal illegal immigrants, and therefore, ICE was targeting them, and not the general illegal immigration population.
“Miller said, ‘What do you mean you’re going after criminals?’ Miller got into a little bit of a pissing contest. ‘That’s what Tom Homan says every time he’s on TV: ‘We’re going after criminals,’” the ICE official told Miller, according to the first official.
Well, this isn’t true, and is contradicted by damn near every immigration news story from the last four-plus months. But it is interesting that this story is getting leaked to right-wing media. One wonders if Miller’s racist crusading is starting to wear even on the people who are ideologically aligned with him.
Wouldn’t that be something!
[Gothamist / Gothamist / NYT]
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