Fascism in Action: There is Now an Official Government Office for Scapegoating Immigrants
Politics News Immigration
Big news today from the Department of Homeland Security:
Today, @DHSgov announced the launch of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office https://t.co/E2vRMra2mZpic.twitter.com/1Au0zNBPhu
— ICE (@ICEgov) April 26, 2017
That’s right: The newly launched “Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement” (VOICE) has its own website, and is ready to start taking complaints. Their raison d’etre:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) established the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office to acknowledge and serve the needs of crime victims and their families who have been impacted by crimes committed by removable criminal aliens.
This office was explicitly called for in the President’s Executive Order titled, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” dated January 25, 2017.
And the mission statement:
With honor and integrity, we will support victims of crimes committed by criminal aliens through access to information and resources.
Once and for all, we can finally close the loophole that prevents American law enforcement from policing crimes that happen to be committed by undocumented immigrants. Hurray!
Oh, wait…we’re looking up the laws now, and apparently police already handle this kind of crime, since it’s, uhhh, crime. In fact, the VOICE website basically tells people not to bother them with crime reports:
*This is not a hotline to report crime. To report crime, please contact your local law enforcement agency or call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.
So what exactly are they offering? Turns out, this is a hotline for victims, witnesses, or their lawyers to call in order to get information of undocumented immigrants who have been accused of a crime. They can learn where they’re being held, whether they’ve been released, or if they’re being deported. They want “to ensure victims and their families have access to releasable information about a perpetrator and to offer assistance explaining the immigration removal process. ICE wants to ensure those victimized by criminal aliens feel heard, seen and supported.”
Now, if this strikes you as slightly bizarre and unnecessary, just try to remember the real purpose: To scapegoat immigrants, imply that they’re all criminals, and to systematically ‘otherize’ them by treating them like pests who need to be corralled and deported. An outfit like VOICE exists to enforce this new identity, and implant the notion in the national conscience that immigrants are bad eggs who require constant monitoring—not just by the government, but by private citizens. They’re not like you and me, see?
of all the terrible shit Trump has done this is the most overtly fascist https://t.co/k8xBPy8Ntp
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) April 26, 2017
Also, you can apparently register “anonymously” as a victim or witness, which means there’s essentially no standard at all for who can access this information. The entire population of American citizens just became Big Brother, and undocumented immigrants just lost a little more of their humanity.