Border Patrol Shoots Woman in Chicago: National Security, or Just 'Securing' Our Insecurity?
The story from Al Jazeera is simple: Border Patrol agents shot a woman in Chicago during immigration protests, using rubber bullets and pepper spray. What's conveniently left out is how agents typically deployed thousands of miles from the southern border ended up in a major American city, firing at civilians. This isn't just about 'immigration enforcement'; it's about a decades-long creep of
militarization, where agencies like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been granted expanded powers, training, and funds—often under the guise of 'national security'—to operate with increasing impunity, even in urban centers. This expansion is funded by budgets passed by a bipartisan consensus, many of whom also champion 'law and order' without scrutinizing whom that order applies to. One
might wonder if the same politicians who vote for billions in 'border security' funding—creating this domestic armed force—are equally eager to scrutinize their tactics when used against their own constituents. Or perhaps, for certain populations, securing the 'border' always meant securing a particular kind of order within. How many times will we fund the expansion of enforcement agencies before
we question the expansion of their targets?