DHS Clarifies: 'Defensive Strikes' Only Apply to Genital-Grabbing, Not State Allegations
The Independent reports an immigration agent was filmed punching a man pinned to the ground in Chicago. DHS quickly declared these 'defensive strikes,' alleging the man grabbed the agent's genitals. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, however, called DHS 'a bunch of liars,' a remarkably direct assessment from a public official—a bluntness rarely seen when, say, the State Department explains away drone
strikes on wedding parties. This convenient 'genital-grabbing' defense is reminiscent of past official narratives, often deployed when public optics take a nosedive. The Department of Homeland Security, an agency with a long history of opaqueness, routinely defines its own terms for 'appropriate force.' One might wonder if similar creative justifications would emerge for agents caught on tape,
say, separating families at the border or violating human rights at detention centers. Instead, we get euphemisms like 'enhanced interrogation' or 'defensive strikes,' always conveniently absolving the uniformed party.