NYT Discovers Protests Against ICE, Forgets Decades of Atrocities
The New York Times breathlessly reports on thousands marching in New York to protest an ICE killing and denounce Trump. While focusing on the singular event, the paper neglects to mention that ICE has been responsible for hundreds of deaths in custody or during operations since its inception in 2003, with little accountability. The agency's tactics have been denounced by human rights groups for
years, long before Trump even considered a presidential run. This isn't a new problem emerging under one administration; it's a systemic feature of border enforcement that has transcended presidencies. One might wonder if the sudden media spotlight on ICE's brutality serves to reframe systemic issues as isolated incidents, conveniently forgetting the bipartisan support that built and maintained
this carceral bureaucracy. It's almost as if some atrocities only become 'newsworthy' when they can be neatly tied to a specific, politically advantageous villain, rather than exposing the continuous, unpoliced violence inherent in the system itself. What’s old is new again, apparently, if it fits the current political narrative.