Garrett Graff: Four Fears about ICE, Trump's New Masked Monster

[highplainsdem]

https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/four-fears-about-ice-trump-s-new-masked-monster-bf1f7205365d4b27

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What happens when a law enforcement agency at any level grows too rapidly is well-documented: Hiring standards fall, training is cut short, field training officers end up being too inexperienced to do the right training, and supervisors are too green to know how to enforce policies and procedures well.

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Hiring fast doesn’t work in law enforcement, but I think there’s a specific reason we should be wary of the next 10,000 people who want to be ICE officers in the United States: We’ve never seen anything in modern US history like the fast-rising social stigma and politicization of ICE as an agency and brand in terms of recruiting. Whole swaths of “normal” ICE applicants, the types of standard former local or state law enforcement officers who have made up the applicant pool, will surely think twice before applying to an agency that makes the NYPD or the Ferguson PD look like “Officer Friendly.” Instead, the types of people who will be attracted to a job in the wake of Kristi Noem’s special-forces cosplay, the eye-popping photo ops at El Salvador’s CECOT torture gulag and the Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp are exactly the people who we shouldn’t imbue with federal law enforcement powers — you’re going to tell a tidal wave of applicants who are specifically attracted by the rough-em-up, masked secret police tactics, no-holds-barred lawlessness that ICE has pursued since January. If you’re excited to dress up like you’re taking Fallujah for a raid of hard-working roofers in the Home Depot parking lot, working ICE or CBP shouldn’t be for you.

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Out in the field, ICE and CBP officers and Border Patrol agents face a different policing environment—there are a lot of areas where civil rights and civil liberties are different in border and immigration policing than they are for Justice Department law enforcement agencies who primarily deal with Article III courts, standards of evidence, and US citizens. We’re already seeing how corruption and fear-inducing applying that “border mentality” to the nation’s interior is — and we’re about to radically increase the number of times and frequency that ICE and CBP officers are in contact with US citizens. “You think we’re arresting people now?” Trump’s border czar Tom Homan bragged. “Wait till we get the funding to do what we got to do.”

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Now combine the ICE and CBP expansion with the other startling and worrisome revelation of the Trump administration last week: It asserts, in “allowing” companies to ignore the TikTok ban, that it has the power to grant clemency for illegal actions. The always-smart Jack Goldsmith, a veteran of the Justice Department and careful student of executive power, called it “an astounding assertion of executive power—maybe the broadest I have ever seen any president or Justice Department make, ever, in any context—and that is saying something.”

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Much more at the link. This should go viral.

[SheltieLover]

1. Get to the greatest page RFN!

[highplainsdem]

3. Thanks!

[SheltieLover]

4. Yw!

Ty for posting!

[CrispyQ]

2. I haven't finished the article cuz I had to google his claim

that those making less than $15K a year would see a tax increase. ?!?!? Are you fucking kidding me?

from Google

* AI Overview

Some reports indicate that taxes on individuals making less than $15,000 per year could increase in the future, particularly when considering the long-term impacts of recent legislation and proposals. Here's a summary of the relevant information:

Potential Tax Increases:

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that in 2029, under the permanent effects of the GOP tax plan (potentially the One Big Beautiful Bill), those earning less than $15,000 a year could see a 53.5% increase in their federal taxes compared to current law.

By 2029, those earning less than $30,000 per year are projected to see their taxes increase on average.

A CBO report cited in a Bankrate article suggests that taxpayers in the lowest 10% of earners could see their resources drop by about 3.9% of their income, or approximately $1,600 per year on average, between 2026 and 2034 due to a new tax law.

"One Big Beautiful Bill" Analysis:

While many households are expected to see tax cuts in 2026, some analyses indicate that lower-income households may experience tax increases in the long run.

The Senate version of the bill (similar to the final "One Big Beautiful Bill&quot has been projected by the Penn Wharton Budget Model to result in households earning less than $18,000 losing an average of $165 in 2027 and $1,305 by 2033 in after-tax-and-transfer income.

One analysis suggests that the lowest-earning households could lose after-tax income, especially in the long run, while higher earners could see gains.

Specific Tax Law Provisions:

The "One Big Beautiful Bill" makes permanent the lower individual income tax rates from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which were set to expire after 2025.

The standard deduction will increase, which may help some lower-income taxpayers, but some provisions like the higher standard deduction for seniors are temporary and set to expire.

Benefits that low-income Americans might receive from tax breaks could be offset by spending cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which could lead to millions losing their health insurance and food assistance.

In summary, while some provisions of recent tax legislation might offer temporary tax relief to certain lower-income individuals, analyses suggest that in the long term, those earning less than $15,000 per year could experience an increase in their tax burden, particularly when considering the broader impact of the tax plan and potential cuts to social programs.