"FIRST THEY CAME FOR..."

Mass deportations and the Republican platform

The Republican National Convention has had some touching and inspiring moments. The thing I notice watching the audience is a feeling of good will among them, of what appears to be a genuine desire to see their country be better. I don’t think that’s something we should criticize, I think it’s something we should learn from. No one should underestimate the psychological power of giving people permission to love their country.

But there’s so much more going on than that.

Once the curtain comes down, it’s very clear that the Wizard of Oz is not who he appears to be. The 2024 Republican Platform is not a prescription for good will. Donald Trump apparently made the platform exactly what he wanted it to be, and there are many problematic aspects to its proposals.

A chilling one - and I do mean chilling - is his plan for mass deportations. In fact, there are signs being given away at the convention that say MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW.  

The exact wording in the platform is this:

The Republican Party is committed to sending Illegal Aliens back home and removing those who have violated our Laws.

If someone has committed a violent crime, that’s one thing. But the vast majority of our undocumented neighbors are not violent criminals - far less than the percentage of violent criminals among native born Americans, in fact. Most of them are law-abiding people who contribute to our economy. There are over 10 million undocumented people in the United States, most of whom would like nothing more than to be allowed citizenship yet are being forced by our immigration laws to live in the shadows.

Let’s deconstruct what is being said here, because it’s absolutely draconian. Mass deportation is a phrase that should make everyone stop short in their tracks.

Just to be clear, I am a Jew. Any Jew is deeply aware of what mass deportation means. It conjures up images of boxcars, although this would be planes, trains or buses. It conjures up images of friends and family hiding those they love in basements and garages. It conjures up images of little children terrified to go to school lest they come home and Mommy or Daddy - or both - are gone forever.

And do not kid yourself. This is exactly what would happen.

So let’s go further. How would the President accomplish such a feat? We’re told it would be through domestic law enforcement, or perhaps the military. Ten million people. Whole communities in a state of trauma. We’re talking about something that makes ICE raids look like small stuff.

But surely, you’re thinking, nothing like that could ever happen here! Well it’s time to get over that one folks, because the Supreme Court has now given the president immunity from criminal prosecution for anything he considers an “official act.” So forget any legal protection, any Constitutional limits at all to the human rights abuses of tearing people from their homes.

One thing about Donald Trump: he usually tells you what he plans to do. Too often however we just haven’t listened, or taken him seriously. We should absolutely take him seriously now.