Democracy Under Attack

So here’s the question of the day: is news about ICE thugs assaulting and arresting elected officials properly classified as immigration news? Or is that story more accurately classified as news about accelerating American fascism? 

Today, masked ICE agents assaulted and arrested NYC Controller (and mayoral candidate) Brad Lander at immigration court. 

DHS spokespuppets immediately said Lander was assaulting a federal officer. Video shows that is not true. 

On BlueSky, Sam Thielman asks: “What is it called when people who aren’t cops and don’t have a warrant drag you away, because I don’t think ‘arrest’ is the word?” 

And Kevin Kruse writes: “As long as they’re hiding their faces, badges and names we should stop calling them “federal agents.” Call them masked goons or unidentified thugs or whatever, unless and until they provide proper ID.”

New York public officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and other mayoral candidates, condemned the “arrest,” and a crowd of protesters quickly grew outside the federal building where Lander was held. Hochul asked the right question: “It’s bullshit. But what about all the people who don’t have that high profile position?”

[AP ] “Lander had spent the morning observing immigration court hearings and told an AP reporter that he was there to ‘accompany’ some immigrants out of the building.

“In the moments before Lander was handcuffed, agents could be seen trying to physically separate Lander from the man they had come to detain. Lander briefly struggled to stay close to the detainee before he was pulled away. Video taken by journalists at the scene shows that agents struggled to separate Lander from the man he’d linked arms with for more than 40 seconds before wresting the two apart. …

“‘You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant,’ Lander said as he was led away down a hallway and into an elevator. 

“One of the officers who led Lander away wore a tactical vest labeled ‘federal agent.’ Others were in plainclothes, with surgical masks over their faces.” 

Resistance is vital. When Senator Alex Padilla tried to ask a question at DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference, he was dragged out, put on the floor, and handcuffed by her goons. Congressman Jerry Nadler’s aide observed immigration court and then federal agents invaded the congressional office, handcuffed an aide, and demanded to search the office. Brad Lander’s accompaniment of immigrants at court led to his arrest. 

Attacks on immigrants and attacks on American democracy are two sides of the same coin. Anti-immigrant enforcement slides right into deployment of troops in U.S. cities, repression of protest, and shooting journalists. 

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent U.S. military troops to Florida, Louisiana, and Texas to assist ICE. According to the press release, “These service members, drawn from all components and operating in a Title 10 duty status, will provide logistical support, and conduct administrative and clerical functions associated with the processing of illegal aliens at ICE detention facilities. They will not directly participate in law enforcement activities.”

Regardless of the description, and regardless of the welcome that those rabidly right-wing state governors are likely to express, that still means U.S. military troops have been deployed to three more states. And that’s not the mission of the U.S. military. 

Reverend Michael Pham, the first U.S. bishop named by Pope Leo XIV, called on clergy to accompany asylum seekers to court on June 20, International Refugee Day. 

[Latin Times] “In a joint letter with Reverends Ramón Bejarano and Felipe Pulido, Rev. Pham announced that a group of clergy and faith leaders will stand in solidarity with migrants at San Diego’s federal courthouse from 7 to 10 a.m. The letter described the migrants’ situation as a “difficult predicament,” noting they are being summoned to court only to face swift expulsion from the country. …

“‘Following the court appearances, the faith leaders will have a press conference so that the clear message that people of faith stand with immigrants and refugees can be delivered to the broader public,’ the letter stated.”

As a former refugee, Rev. Pham shares the pain of those forced to flee their homelands—and especially of those now being forcibly returned to danger. Accompaniment is one response to the attacks on immigrants. 

Brad Lander was released from custody after about five hours. He assured the crowd that welcomed him that he had suffered no injury except for losing a button. Then he shifted the focus where it should be: 

[The American Prospect] “Standing near Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Lander told the crowd how ICE agents had separated him from a defendant he had just met, Edgardo, who is now in immigration detention.

“’He’s not going to sleep in his bed tonight. So far as I know, he has no lawyer. He has been stripped of his due process rights by a government and a judge that owe him a credible fear hearing before they deport him,’ Lander said. ‘I will be fine, but Edgardo is not going to be fine, and the rule of law is not fine, and our constitutional democracy is not fine.’” 

Ongoing attacks on immigrants are inextricably intertwined with attacks on our Constitution and country. Every citizen needs to seriously consider what response they will make. When democracy is under attack, doing nothing is not an option.