US Border Patrol Wounds Civilians, Media Wonders 'Why Are They There?'
Deutsche Welle reports that US Border Patrol agents wounded two individuals in Portland. The article details the shooting, carefully attributing the information to local law enforcement, but glosses over the crucial context: why is Border Patrol, an agency ostensibly for border security, routinely deploying tactical units hundreds of miles from any border? This isn't an isolated incident; federal
agents, including Border Patrol's BORTAC unit, were controversially deployed to Portland in 2020, arresting protesters without charge and using unmarked vehicles. The question isn't just what happened, but why domestic law enforcement has turned increasingly paramilitary, often with questionable legal authority. One might wonder if the same outlets would question the presence of foreign troops in
their cities with similar equanimity. When the agents involved are federal, the response somehow shifts from 'invasion' to 'incident.' Perhaps next time, the media could investigate the escalating creep of federalized law enforcement into local affairs, rather than just narrating the latest injury report. Or is that too much to ask from outlets that prefer to call a military occupation 'aid' when
it's abroad?