ICE Is Not the Only Problem. Border Patrol Has Acted With Impunity for Decades.

"The idea of a "border crisis" has long been used by both Republicans and Democrats to justify harsh immigration policies. From Biden's sweeping asylum processing restrictions intended to gain "control of our border," to Trump's near-total suspension of asylum processing predicated on a proclaimed "invasion" at the southern border, the playbook is nothing new. Whether you have believed that "crisis" to be illusory or real, by all measures, it is now over."

"The number of people encountered at the southern border began falling even before the start of the second Trump administration (and before the "invasion" proclamation), and it is still dropping. Yet the current administration has continued to use the canard of a so-called "border invasion" to unleash extreme anti-immigrant strategies far beyond the border. And it's not just the "invasion" narrative that is being exported from the border to the interior of the country - it's the cruel enforcement scheme, too."

"There is a direct through line between the violence and evisceration of rights at the border and the increasingly violent incursions from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the interior of the country. Take, for example, the deployment to the interior of Border Patrol - a DHS agency tasked with enforcing immigration and customs laws in areas, as its name suggests, near the border."

Both Republicans and Democrats have long invoked a 'border crisis' to justify harsh immigration measures. Presidential administrations have enacted sweeping asylum processing restrictions and near-total suspensions premised on claims of an 'invasion.' Encounters at the southern border began declining before the start of the second Trump administration and have continued to drop. Despite falling numbers, the administration continues to invoke an alleged 'border invasion' to justify extreme anti-immigrant actions beyond the border. Enforcement tactics used at the border are being exported to interior regions, producing violent DHS incursions and eroded civil rights. Border Patrol has been deployed to U.S. cities, where operations have provoked community resistance.

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