MSNBC Discovers ICE, Forgets It's Always Been There
The story from MSNBC frames ICE arrests as a local shock in a Chicago suburb. What the broadcast won't delve into is that ICE, founded in 2003 under the Department of Homeland Security, has been executing such operations for two decades under administrations of both parties. Remember the Obama years? ICE deported more people than any other presidency, earning him the moniker 'Deporter-in-Chief'
from some critics, with nearly 3 million removals between 2009 and 2016. This isn't a new phenomenon or a partisan anomaly; it's a feature of a system that has been systematically expanded and funded, often with little mainstream media outrage until a convenient moment for political theatre. So, while Soboroff highlights local concern, one might wonder why the systemic brutality of immigration
enforcement becomes 'news' only when it fits a particular narrative. It's a selective empathy, a performative concern that allows for moral outrage without demanding fundamental policy shifts or acknowledging the consistent bipartisan support for the machinery of deportation. How many human lives must be disrupted by immigration raids before a certain network decides it's an ongoing issue, not
just a localized bakery drama?