The ICE Crackdown: A Long History of State-Sanctioned Othering
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports on widespread general strikes across the US by activists and immigrants protesting increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns, showing solidarity in the face of harsh federal immigration policies. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: Modern US immigration enforcement has deep roots in Cold War counter-insurgency and racialized
control. Operation Wetback in 1954 saw mass deportations of Mexican laborers and citizens, ostensibly to combat ‘illegal immigration’ but also to control labor markets and demonize a targeted population. The 1996 Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), both signed by President Clinton, drastically expanded
grounds for deportation, ended judicial review for many cases, and laid the foundation for the militarized border and interior enforcement we see today. These acts, often overlooked, created the infrastructure ICE now operates through. Double Standard: The media often frames immigration enforcement as a necessary, if sometimes harsh, measure to maintain 'rule of law.' Yet, there's a stark silence
on the US's historical role in creating these migration crises – through coups, wars, and economic policies (like NAFTA in 1994, which devastated Mexican agriculture and drove migration). The same outlets condemning 'illegal immigration' rarely scrutinize the foreign policy decisions that destabilize entire regions, forcing people to flee. Compare the outrage over 'border crossers' to the