Border Patrol Eyes Chicago: A 'National Security' Mission?
Mainstream outlets like The Hill are touting Border Patrol's commander, Rodney Scott, declaring his agency will be in Chicago 'for years' because, you know, 'national security.' Scott, whose agency spent 2023 receiving an approximate $17.3 billion in taxpayer funding (source: DHS budget documents), seems to extend the 'border' well beyond any actual border. This mission expansion, sold as
necessary, conveniently justifies ever-increasing budgets for agencies like CBP—budgets that directly benefit private contractors and expand surveillance capabilities far beyond their stated purpose. One might wonder at what point the 'border' becomes synonymous with 'anywhere the federal government decides to deploy armed agents indefinitely.' Is this about securing a border, or normalizing a
paramilitary presence in American cities under the guise of an ongoing 'crisis'? Perhaps the real crisis is a lack of critical questioning when agencies with a history of civil rights abuses gain indefinite jurisdiction in urban centers.