The Economist: What a Chicago immigration raid says about Trumpism [View all]

At 7500 South Shore Drive, an apartment complex in Chicago, the front gate and door are wide open. Walk inside and you find an almost abandoned building. Though a few apartments have sturdy gates and double bolts, most lack doors and are closed by plywood. A few are open to the world. Inside one a bunch of balloons and a bouquet of roses suggest a recent celebration. A pushchair sits in one corner. A copy of the New Testament, in Spanish, lies on the floor. There is no sign of the occupants. Most likely they are in an immigration detention centre somewhere.

Back on September 6th President Donald Trump posted a picture on his Truth Social page referencing “Apocalypse Now”, a war film, with the caption “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” On September 30th a raid on 7500 South Shore Drive showed he meant it. At around 1am, at least 300 masked federal agents, mostly from border patrol, some rappelling from helicopters, others using breaching ladders, stormed into the building. They threw flashbang grenades into the corridors, smashed in doors and then marched everyone, including children, into the street in their pyjamas. Some 37 Venezuelan immigrants were taken away.

One of the residents who remains is Alicia Brooks, a 33-year-old American citizen. By her account, at around 1am on the night of the raid she heard a helicopter right outside her window on the fifth floor. “I started to get my key, and I was grabbed,” she says. “I was zip-tied in front of me and escorted outside the building.” Dozens of men in military-style uniforms carrying assault rifles evacuated the complex “like it was on fire”, she says. They lined up the inhabitants outside, zip-tying the hands of the adults, and put them on buses.

By law, to question somebody, immigration officers must have reason to think they could be an illegal immigrant. To arrest somebody, they need probable cause. Ms Brooks, who is black, with an American accent, says she repeatedly asked officers why she was being arrested, and pointed out her citizenship. Nobody asked her any questions. When she continued to object to her arrest, an officer knocked her to the ground, removed the zip-ties and replaced them with handcuffs, locked as tightly as they would go. By the time she was released, together with several other citizens, she says the sun was coming up.

More at:

https://archive.ph/besFb

The article seems to point to the “making of content” being the goal …

Like “influencers” are running the country … smh