'We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet'-Trump's Mass Deportations Will Only Grow From Here

"When Donald Trump won a second term as US president a year ago, members of violent militias and far-right extremist groups who had spent years boosting the lie that the 2020 election was rigged were ready to assist the president with delivering on one of his main campaign promises: mass deportations. "I'm willing to help," Richard Mack, a former sheriff who founded the far-right Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, told WIRED at the time, claiming he was in touch with Tom Homan, the man Trump installed as his "border czar." Tim Foley, head of the Arizona Border Recon, which describes itself as a "non-government organization," also told WIRED he was in contact with administration officials."

"Despite all of these militia leaders and far-right extremist groups salivating at the prospect of being deployed to the streets of American cities to round up immigrants at gunpoint, the call never came. Instead, the Trump administration has remade the federal government so completely that it has no need for far-right formations from outside the government to traumatize and terrorize immigrant communities across the country. Instead, it is relying on a vastly increased federal force encompassing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), FBI and DEA agents, state and local law enforcement officers, and others. This newly enlarged force is emboldened not only by a massive influx of cash but also by tacit approval from the White House to do whatever it feels is necessary to meet Trump's wild deportation goals."

When Donald Trump won a second term, violent militias and far-right extremist groups that promoted the 2020 election fraud stood ready to assist with mass deportations. Militia leaders and organizers claimed contact with administration figures and offered operational help. Meetings and communications occurred between administration-appointed officials and far-right affiliates. The administration instead rebuilt federal enforcement capacity, vastly increasing ICE, CBP, FBI, DEA, and coordinated state and local law enforcement. The enlarged force received substantial funding and tacit White House approval to pursue ambitious deportation targets, reducing reliance on external far-right formations to carry out terrorizing operations.

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