The Trump administration has escalated its racist migrant deportation campaign as the US President’s approval ratings trend downwards.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed in major cities like an invading force, from Chicago, to LA to New York. In a number of cities Trump has sent in National Guard troops, armed to the teeth, to quell protests, intimidate the population and reinforce ICE.
The brutal ICE raids have become a symbol of the Trump administration’s racist cruelty.
Images of screaming mothers torn from their families in residential streets, savage violence and thuggery from masked agents and ambush raids in supermarkets and workplaces have all flooded social media and the news.
The largest National Guard mobilisation saw 4000 deployed alongside 7000 marines in LA in June. Hundreds of National Guard troops were also sent to Washington DC to respond to what Trump called a “situation of complete and total lawlessness” and the National Guard has also been deployed in Memphis in smaller numbers.
Most recently Trump has tried to launch a racist immigration blitz in Chicago, but any National Guard deployment has been delayed by the courts.
In July the US Congress passed a massive $260 billion funding injection for immigration and border enforcement activities. Trump wants to hire 10,000 new ICE officers and 3000 Customs and Border Protection agents this year. Department of Homeland Security recruitment ads have used racist, far-right and white supremacist language and imagery, screaming slogans like “Defend your culture!”
Trump’s racist onslaught comes against the backdrop of a political deadlock in the Congress. According to The Economist, Trump’s net approval rating sat at a dismal -17 per cent at the time of writing. Trump came to power promising to fix inflation. But since his “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced in January his net approval on the issue of “inflation and prices” has nosedived to less than -30 per cent.
The Federal government has also been shut down for weeks as Democrats refuse to pass Trump’s budget measures.
The focus of the shutdown is the extension of healthcare subsidies that would see millions lose health insurance as well as cuts to Medicaid. Even though the Republicans have a majority in both the House and the Senate, Senate rules require three-fifths of senators to vote in favour of “ending debate” so Bills can proceed to a vote. This has enabled the Democrats to dig in.
Resistance
Trump is on an authoritarian rampage. It was truly appalling to see Anthony Albanese grinning next to Trump during their meeting in Washington. Albanese was in the US to cement the AUKUS nuclear subs pact and sign a critical minerals deal with the far-right President.
But the mass resistance to Trump in US has been a ray of hope.
In October, an estimated seven million people hit the streets for “No Kings” protests against Trump’s authoritarian policies.
A quarter of a million poured into the streets of Chicago and an estimated 200,000 flooded Washington DC, where large numbers of workers have been “furloughed” due to the government shutdown. Unions and unionists joined the protests in big numbers. Victor Fernandez, a migrants’ rights organiser reporting from LA, told Socialist Worker:
“The United Teachers of Los Angeles have a feeder march of a couple of thousand. And the California Teachers Union and the United Healthcare and the Service Employees International Union public sector union have contingents.”
The politics of the protests were mixed. There is huge righteous anger against Trump’s far-right agenda. But Democrats have sought to co-opt the anger and channel it into the midterm elections. Even the likes of Hilary Clinton re-tweeted about the protests.
The mass resistance to Trump has also opened the space for radical organising that isn’t tied to the Democrats.
In Chicago residents have come out onto the streets to confront ICE and defend their neighbours. In LA large numbers have joined community patrols of workplaces like Home Depot targeted by deportation agents. ICE was driven off the streets in part of LA during explosive protests in June.
Trump’s popularity has taken a big hit—militant mass action can push him back.
By Adam Adelpour
