Trump Admin To Recruit Citizen Snitches For 'Immigrant Patrol'
While MSNBC paints this as something out of a dystopian novel, the concept of incentivizing civilian surveillance for governmental objectives isn't exactly groundbreaking. Historically, governments worldwide have dabbled in such 'community engagement' schemes to identify 'undesirables,' from the East German Stasi's network of informants to various neighborhood watch programs that morph into moral
panics. The only difference here seems to be the transparency (or lack thereof) of the payment structure, reducing civic duty to a bounty hunt. One might wonder if the efficacy of such programs is truly in question, or merely the optics. When the official state apparatus requires volunteers to perform its dirty work, it raises uncomfortable questions about the government's priorities and the
normalization of xenophobia. It appears some national security threats are deemed worthy of cluster bombs and billions in foreign aid, while others warrant a neighborhood watch bulletin and a meager reward for 'vigilance.'