Yes, I’m deeply alarmed by the federal agents brutalizing citizens in American cities. But I’ve also spent my entire adult life writing about federal agents brutalizing migrants and undocumented people both at the border and in every corner of this country.

Once DHS was created in the wake of 9/11, we started marching to where we find ourselves now. Every administration- Republican and Democrat- helped get us here.

Since it’s inception, the agencies housed inside of DHS have been given billions of dollars to trample the rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. Border Patrol’s “Constition-free” zone in the borderlands is just one example.

Agencies like ICE and CBP have never been held accountable and have been allowed to act with very little oversight, and Congress keeps throwing money at them. Unconstitutional raids, in-custody deaths, and widespread abuse be damned.

What we are seeing is of course deeply alarming, but my 10+ years steeped in immigration told me we were headed here. All it took was getting a fascist in office to wield the system that was built by everyone else along the way. Now he can weaponize it against all of us.

I just hope y’all know that an election isn’t going to get us out of this. A Democrat who says the right things isn’t going to get us out of this. The potential for abuse at this scale is baked into these federal agencies and the systems that allow them to operate with impunity.