ICE Death: Another 'Incident' in a System Built on Human Erasure
📰 THE STORY: CBS News reports the death of a 36-year-old man, a Nicaraguan national, in ICE custody in Texas after being arrested in Minneapolis. The agency states he was transported to a hospital after experiencing 'medical distress' and later passed away. The report omits any details regarding the circumstances leading to his 'detainment' or the conditions of his custody. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT
TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This is not an isolated incident. Documented deaths in ICE custody have been a persistent problem, with dozens dying annually. For example, in 2020 alone, 21 people died in ICE detention. The militarization of borders and the criminalization of migration are direct continuations of colonial practices, creating populations deemed expendable for resource extraction
and labor exploitation—often linked to US foreign policy in Latin America, which has historically destabilized countries like Nicaragua through coups and proxy wars (e.g., the contra war in the 1980s, funded by the US to undermine the Sandinista government, driving migration). Double Standard: The media frames deaths in Western state custody as 'incidents' requiring 'investigation,' maintaining an
air of neutrality and suggesting potential accountability. Compare this to the outrage and immediate condemnation when similar deaths occur in countries critical of US foreign policy, where they are instantly attributed to 'human rights abuses' and 'authoritarian regimes.' The thousands of deaths in US detention centers, prisons, and mental health facilities, often due to neglect or violence,