Weekly Education and Analysis on Current Events

Zinnia

Zinnia

Tag: immigration

  • The Trump Administration Escalates Violence on Protesters in Los Angeles

    The Trump Administration Escalates Violence on Protesters in Los Angeles

    “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”

    – Martin Luther King Jr.

    Los Angeles CA: Police activity escalated against protestors as ICE began unjustifiable raids on immigrant communities and workplaces. This comes as the Trump administration proceeds in it’s deportation campaign which aims to embody Operation Wetback, President Eisenhower’s mass deportation operation which infamously removed one million people from the country, at times deporting US citizens as well.

    The National Guard has been deployed by the administration in order to confront peaceful protests which seek to defend community members from their unjust removal from the country. This has demonstrated a clear escalation on behalf of our leaders against communities which are exercising their right to organize a protest and to engage in free speech.

    The Trump administration repeatedly claimed during it’s presidential bid that their mass deportation campaign would target criminals, however, it’s been clear that ICE agents have been targeting workers, mothers, and community members while threatening deportations and separations of families. It is also worth noting that Immigrants commit less crime per capita than US born citizens, highlighting how the administration attempts to procure consent for an unjust deportation campaign by stroking unfounded fears of “increased crime”.

    The administration has shown repeatedly that it will not uphold our constitutional right to free speech or protest. If individuals cannot protest on public land like universities, city halls, or city streets without facing violent escalation, nor have the ability to protest on private lands, then movements have nowhere to protest at all.

    Here are recent developments demonstrating Police escalations against protestors:

    SEIU California President David Huerta arrested while advocating for Immigrant communities

    It is also worthy of note that Law enforcement and ICE, in addition to other government agencies, recieve training by Israel’s IOF in corralling, surveillance, protest suppression, and detention tactics which are often employed against US citizens and residents. Additionally, these agencies and their personnel are trained on the usage of tech and equipment to further brutalize all of our communities.

    The suppression, brutalization, and suffering of the Palestinians serves as a testing ground for the brutalization of protestors and immigrants in our communities across the country.

  • U.S. Senator Van Hollen Shows Power that the Democratic Party Should Use More Often

    U.S. Senator Van Hollen Shows Power that the Democratic Party Should Use More Often

    On April 18, 2025, Senator Chris Van Hollen pressured the Salvadorian government to allow him to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who the Trump administration admitted to wrongfully and illegally deporting.

    Van Hollen elaborated in a press conference on how he obtained a meeting with Abrego, stating that he requested visitations and calls with Abrego, petitioning as well for the Salvadorian government to allow him some contact with his lawyers or family as well.

    After repeated no’s from Salvadorian Officials, Van Hollen drove to CECOT, where he was stopped by soldiers and was told that he could not proceed. Upon preparing to leave the country, Van Hollen stated that he received word that he would be allowed to meet with Abrego.

    El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele shared photos on X of the meeting, stating that they had allegedly been drinking margaritas. It’s clear that Bukele gave in to the pressure that a U.S. Senator can procure.

    The lesson to be learned here is that party officials, including Senators, do indeed have lots of power to demand attention to an issue, to pressure action and response from government officials, and to push back against misinformation and injustice.

    The sad reality is that this is a power that is all too often forgotten by Democratic Party leaders. By making the issue unavoidable to the press, party officials can garner the media attention required to push back on harmful and false narratives, can lead the way for positive policy development.

    It can be extremely effective in combatting misinformation about migrant crime (when in reality migrants in the U.S. commit less crimes per capita than U.S. born citizens), or in combatting narratives about student protests “supporting terrorists”, or to bring attention to conflicts or ongoing genocide, etc.

    Rather, there are numerous instances where party officials capitulated to the right on their narratives and their framing, from a supposed immigration crisis, to supporting genocide, to outright agreeing with the Trump administration on the suppression of free speech, among various other cases.

    Chris Van Hollen’s actions showed the power that a single U.S. senator can have in shifting the narrative about an issue, simultaneously combatting misinformation and raising awareness, which can ultimately have effects on policy or even elections. By making a situation unavoidable to the press, elected party officials can procure the means to shift the narrative about import issues in society, and can use their power to advocate for just policy and positive change.