Maurice B. | Corresponsal de Red Phoenix | Nueva York–
The fascist Trump administration has arrested over 26,000 people so far this year in its jingoist and white supremacist criminal deportation campaign against undocumented migrants and those suspected of being undocumented. The lawless cruelty of this xenophobic attack on the immigrant communities of this country has never been in question for the progressive and revolutionary workers of the nation.
From the onset of his second term in office, Donald Trump and his bloodthirsty cabinet have slowly dismantled many of the bourgeois protections previously shielding refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants at large from persecution and deportation; as of the time of writing, over a dozen Executive Orders have been dedicated to the further tightening of the grip of MAGA-Trumpism around the necks of immigrants and all American workers. These outrageous attacks on immigrant communities have been most primarily reflected in E.O. 14157 (“..Cartels.. Global Terrorists..”), 14159 (“Protecting the American People Against Invasion”), 14161 (“Protecting the United States… Foreign Terrorists…”), and 14165 (“Securing Our Borders”).
The militarization of ICE and of the overall operations at the Southern border have also been emphasized through several Executive Orders to: service the further repression of undocumented persons; finance weapons and military ordnance manufacturers; and justify future expansions in military jurisdiction (amongst the imperialists – MAGA-Trumpism has taken the lead in the “great remilitarization” of NATO). Donald Trump said “We will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety and peace for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed” and “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier” during his inauguration speech in January of this year.
Yet in typical conduct of a bourgeois charlatan, Trump has done nothing but bring pessimism, austerity, repression and both national and global upheaval. Chiseling the accents to his fascist edifice, Trump’s legacy will be set in stone as one of a great militarist and plunderer – a militant defender of imperialism and unfettered capitalist extraction. A figurehead for decaying and moribund capitalism. Earlier this month, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, told reporters that the Trump administration intends to suspend habeas corpus as per the imperialists, “the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion.” Meanwhile, on May 4, Donald Trump told NBC that he “doesn’t know” in reply to whether or not both U.S. citizens and noncitizens deserve due process, specifically in reference to the case of the illegally and inhumanely deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
On May 21, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem incorrectly stated that habeas corpus is a “constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their rights” in front of a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs the day prior. Noem argued with Senator Maggie Hassan as to the proper legal definition and application of the legal principle – despite Sen. Hassan being a former attorney while Noem has no former or current legal expertise.
What is the significance of these statements? What does the prospect of the suspension of habeas corpus mean for the Marxist-Leninists and revolutionaries of this nation?
The suspension of habeas corpus is a blank check for MAGA-Trumpism to rain down severe and unyielding fascist violence against “dissent”; against “terrorism”; against “anti-American ideologies”; against “antisemitism” (read anti-Zionism) – against any and all trends of thought and political action that challenge or openly combat the vile and repugnant xenophobic corporatism of the Trump administration. First the justification is to “keep America safe” from “terrorist foreign gangs.” Then, it may be “to keep America free from antisemitism” or safe from “domestic terrorists.” Any step that Trump and his murderous clique takes to dismantle and mangle constitutional protections – they will take and do so swiftly.
Each step will lay the groundwork for a further escalation while right-wing media works to pacify the most backwards strata of workers to cheer for their own oppression. Fascism is no longer “at the door”; it’s inside our homes and creeping in the dark threatening our very lives. Push back the fascist advance! Fight for a socialist future!