ICE Detains Grandma, But Billionaires Who Evade Taxes Get Invited To Dinner
Newsweek details how ICE is detaining an 84-year-old grandmother, a lawful permanent resident, with an old misdemeanor on her record, possibly through the holidays. This vigorous application of the law, one might observe, is reserved for particular demographics. While the US government can spend trillions on military projects and aid to foreign nations without blinking (e.g., the $14.5 billion aid
package to Israel, where critics argue congressional votes often align with AIPAC donations), it finds the resources to ensure an elderly woman misses Thanksgiving. One might wonder if the same zeal is applied to uncovering the financial misdeeds of those who funnel dark money into elections or benefit from elaborate tax havens. It certainly appears that a decades-old minor offense from a
grandmother is deemed a more urgent threat to the American way of life than, say, systemic wealth extraction or the continuous erosion of democratic accountability. (How many billionaires have missed Thanksgiving due to ICE?) The optics suggest a highly selective, and frankly, performative, brand of 'justice'.