I’ve always wondered what ‘national security’ really means. It must certainly mean, first and foremost, to protect the well-being of its people, sovereignty second, if attacked.

Lately, however, national security has been expanded into terrorism, which can mean anything politicians want it to mean. It encompasses drugs and gangs and even foreign leaders and elections in foreign countries.

The US Department of ‘Homeland’ Security was established in 2002 following the 9/11 attack on the ‘homeland.’

The only prior use of Heimat was by the Third Reich. Perhaps Dubya found that effective rhetoric to work people up against an undefined 'enemy'.

The DHS was supported by two laws passed by the US Congress, the USA PATRIOT Act and the Homeland Security Act, both of which established domestic surveillance and abrogated privacy. They did not, however, legalize terrorists and soldiers on the streets of America.

The only other world reference to ‘homeland’ was, fittingly, used by apartheid South Africa. South Africa created ‘Bantustans’ within Boer South Africa from 1974 to 1994. In 1994, free elections by all citizens--Black, White and Coloured--were held and apartheid was abolished. Each of the ten Bantustans separated Black African natives by ethnic and language groups.

A ‘Police Zone’ surrounded each Bantustan and included in its jurisdiction all harbours, the railway network, paved road infrastructure, airports and diamond mining areas. This made the residents of the Bantustans migrant workers in South Africa.

That the United States, a world power, would willingly choose to adopt Nazi or apartheid references is shocking. It gives greatly extended domestic power to the Federal government.

That government agency, DHS, has chosen to flex its muscle by militarizing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE has created masked, anonymous terror squads of 220,000 agents spread throughout the United States. The Nazi Gestapo had 30,000 to 40,000 police; the East German Stasi had 91,000; the Soviet KGB 480,000. America is working day and night to close the gap.

ICE agents capture and deport foreigners without documents as well as foreigners who are legal US residents and citizens. The ICE focus targets people of colour (surprise, surprise!).

After arrest, detainees are housed in 961 immigration detention facilities before being deported. The US maintains the largest detention camp infrastructure in the world.

These camps, like Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, may not exactly fit the definition of concentration camps but they are certainly reminiscent of the ten isolated internment camps from 1942 to 1944.

120,000 Japanese immigrants and their citizen children and grandchildren were interned. Two-thirds were American citizens.

Their lands and houses were seized and auctioned, their possessions stolen. Their means of occupation such as tools and farm equipment, fishing boats, gear and licenses were taken. As in Nazi Germany, they were only allowed what they could carry.

It is very likely that the possessions of the deportees are being similarly plundered. Why not—these are criminals.

ICE deports detainees to their home countries or to countries to which they have no association. By apparent whim it also deports them to the largest prison in the hemisphere, the maximum-security Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador, where prisoners report constant brutal physical torture.

The Constitution’s Bill of Rights value free speech, due process, fair trials and privacy, all of which have been annulled in the name of nebulous ’national security’ in a ‘homeland’ which does not exist.

The US President signed a new ‘national security’ presidential memorandum, NSPM-7, that instructs federal law enforcement to investigate “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity.”

This memo targets anti-ICE protests, calling them antifa terrorism. C’mon, antifa?!? However, only in the ‘land of the free’ would protestors feel the need to bring firearms to a demonstration, even if they left them in their cars.

The US has become a divided country. Rich and poor, white and coloured, sick and well, ‘free’ citizens and slave prisoners. All these Americans live in separate and opposite universes.

Undocumented parents who are being deported have a choice for their US citizen children: choose them or lose them. Is the white-wing(nut) government the real terrorists? Decide for yourself.

We’ve come to this. It’s not only MAGA and the Heritage Foundation.

This devolution of American values has been occurring at least since Kennedy’s assassination. The last little spark of freedom was snuffed out by a bullet.

The US still won’t ban its guns but can charge a foreign leader with possession of his in a foreign country.

The original intention was to protect the Homeland against terrorists, most of the budget for the 22 different intelligent agencies that get hundreds of billions of dollars a year in funding, are used to spy on Americans now.

Welcome to the empire of corruption, deceit and abusive of power.

19 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Undocumented parents who are being deported have a choice for their US citizen children: choose them or lose them. Is the white-wing(nut) government the real terrorists? Decide for yourself.

Does someone have a right be in a country illegaly? Do you have a right to live in Thailand without a proper Visa?

1 hour ago, Effective altruism said:

Does someone have a right be in a country illegaly? Do you have a right to live in Thailand without a proper Visa?

The question here is humanity versus legality. Only heartless monsters separate families. Legal workarounds exist. The citizen children could sponsor their non-citizen parents by proxy. For me, there is no right vs left, only right vs wrong.

3 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

The question here is humanity versus legality. Only heartless monsters separate families. Legal workarounds exist. The citizen children could sponsor their non-citizen parents by proxy. For me, there is no right vs left, only right vs wrong.

It is convenient to take one case to make your point, but not logical. If I enter Thailand illegally and have a child or two (with a Thai wife) and later I am discovered as overstaying for 5-10 years, you think the Thai government should allow me to stay in Thailand because I have Thai children? Because it is humane to do so? How about if I have a foreign wife, the same two children born here, both of us on overstay, you think Thailand should let my family stay? Would be sad I can't be with my family but I would have knowingly broke the immigration laws and knew the potential consequences. If I wanted my family together, I would need to make another plan outside the country if I was banned. Why do you not think the same should not apply in the US? The alternative is some notion that we are all world citizens and we should be able to live wherever we want, have children wherever we want, and maybe free or local gov't support in countries that offer it? When you apply your arguement to one illegal immigrant mother in the US forced to take or leave her child when deported, and apply that worldwide (as your arguement should on "humanity" grounds), it would cause immigration chaos. While individual cases are sad, there are consequences to bad choices in all aspects of life. In your example, ofcourse the mother should take her children with her, THAT is the humane thing to do if she believes a family together is better than apart. In more extreme cases, what if the mother broike the law, was a drug addict, a social drain to the economy, a liar and cheat, would any of that matter to you on her immigration status? There are always unique circumstances but you need to be clear that you are talking about illegal immigrants, that broke the law to enter, and from that point forward they know they can be deported at any time.

When you try to compare ICE to the gestapo.....well you lose any and all credibility.

What utter delusion.

4 hours ago, Silencer said:

It is convenient to take one case to make your point, but not logical. If I enter Thailand illegally and have a child or two (with a Thai wife) and later I am discovered as overstaying for 5-10 years, you think the Thai government should allow me to stay in Thailand because I have Thai children? Because it is humane to do so? How about if I have a foreign wife, the same two children born here, both of us on overstay, you think Thailand should let my family stay? Would be sad I can't be with my family but I would have knowingly broke the immigration laws and knew the potential consequences. If I wanted my family together, I would need to make another plan outside the country if I was banned. Why do you not think the same should not apply in the US? The alternative is some notion that we are all world citizens and we should be able to live wherever we want, have children wherever we want, and maybe free or local gov't support in countries that offer it? When you apply your arguement to one illegal immigrant mother in the US forced to take or leave her child when deported, and apply that worldwide (as your arguement should on "humanity" grounds), it would cause immigration chaos. While individual cases are sad, there are consequences to bad choices in all aspects of life. In your example, ofcourse the mother should take her children with her, THAT is the humane thing to do if she believes a family together is better than apart. In more extreme cases, what if the mother broike the law, was a drug addict, a social drain to the economy, a liar and cheat, would any of that matter to you on her immigration status? There are always unique circumstances but you need to be clear that you are talking about illegal immigrants, that broke the law to enter, and from that point forward they know they can be deported at any time.

What I'm hearing is only bleating 'the law', 'the law', 'the law' as if the law were paramount and humanity be damned. No doubt you're right, of course, Thailand would have no problem separating families. After all, it's 'the law'.

You seem to think that only one family has been broken by ICE. The ACLU reports that 5,635 children were separated from their parents due to deportation.

From 2011 to 2013 alone, 4.4 million US citizen children lived with at least one undocumented parent. Between 2013 and 2018, ICE deported more than 230,000 people who had US citizen children.

There, as here, there should be legislation in place to keep families together. Surely, that's not the intention of 'the law' passed by Congress. If it was the intent, I find that criminal.

11 minutes ago, blaze master said:

When you try to compare ICE to the gestapo.....well you lose any and all credibility.

What utter delusion.

Masked anonymous terrorists who are now murdering US citizens?!? Are you kidding?

At least the Gestapo weren't masked, they only wore Nazi armbands, as should the ICE thugs.

1 minute ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Masked anonymous terrorists who are now murdering US citizens?!? Are you kidding?

At least the Gestapo weren't masked, they only wore Nazi armbands, as should the ICE thugs.

Yawn. Masked anonymous terrorists. Yikes you really drank a whole lot.

8 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

The question here is humanity versus legality. Only heartless monsters separate families. Legal workarounds exist. The citizen children could sponsor their non-citizen parents by proxy. For me, there is no right vs left, only right vs wrong.

Illegals should never be rewarded.

21 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

The question here is humanity versus legality. Only heartless monsters separate families. Legal workarounds exist. The citizen children could sponsor their non-citizen parents by proxy. For me, there is no right vs left, only right vs wrong.

Give me a break. We live in modern nation stats with immigration laws.

13 hours ago, blaze master said:

When you try to compare ICE to the gestapo.....well you lose any and all credibility.

What utter delusion.

It gets old after a while. They can’t engage valid discussion.

Might I remind you right wingers that people who are, in fact, following the LAW are detained and deported. That is what ICE is doing at courts. Arresting those who follow the law!