We Did This

60 Minutes reports that as many as 75% of the men we sent to CECOT have no criminal record.

There is a LOT going on. I mean, yeah, we all know that, but it seems like things really ramped up recently. In just the last four days we have seen the lows of the self-inflicted stock market crash, the highs of incredible turnout for the #HandsOff march, and on a personal note, the loss of a dear member of the family. There’s a lot to discuss, and a lot of feelings to process. But the issue that keeps haunting me is how we, the United States, the supposed bastion of freedom and example to the world, sent over 200 men to a hellhole torture prison in El Salvador with no due process.

I assume that, if you are reading this, you are familiar with how these Venezuelan men were detained without charges, flown to El Salvador, and incarcerated in El Salvador’s CECOT prison, so I won’t rehash all of the details. I will say that the entire affair has tormented me on several levels, as I am having trouble simply fathoming what it would be like to be grabbed up, guilty of nothing (at least as far as has been proven in court), and sent to one of the worst prisons on the planet, with no immediate hope for relief and little prospect of ever being released. The callous and cruel way that the entire admin is not only defending this, but trying to paint anyone who is concerned with the blatant assault on the rule of law and the Constitution itself as supporters of rapists and murderers¹ is fucking disgusting. I truly believe that this will go down as one of the blackest moments in our national history.

Let me be crystal clear about something: None of these men… not one, was convicted of a crime. If they had been given due process, been made aware of the charges against them, and been found guilty of a crime in a court of law, then I would have zero issues whatsoever with them being jailed (in the United States) or deported. TO THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. Not to a fascistic torture prison in a third, completely unrelated country. That is just patently unconstitutional, regardless of whatever bullshit Act Trump is saying is in effect. Anyone thinking that the admin will not try to send Americans isn’t paying attention.

Added to the insult is the fact that even in the case of Kilmar Garcia, where the US Government has admitted they fucked up, they are refusing to bring him back to the United States. They have been ordered, by both a District and an Appeals court, to return this man to his (American) family. Immediately. Instead, they fight, requesting an emergency stay from the US Supreme Court. Just writing that out is raising my rage, yet again. If an American had been treated like this by a foreign government, the State Department would be raising holy hell, and rightfully so.

If you are wondering why I am so upset by this right now, with everything else that is going on right now, it’s because of this segment that aired on CBS News’ 60 Minutes last night. I suggest you take the time to watch the whole thing, then come on back.

Seventy-Five Percent.

Three out of four men that we sent to this torture prison have no criminal record. DHS and ICE tell us not to worry, they are certainly gang members and terrorists. Their source? Trust me, bro.

Well, sorry if my trust in literally anything this administration says is somewhere far below zero.

We did this. America. Land of the Free. We spirited these men away without proving a goddamned thing that they did wrong. We know, by their own admission, that at least one of these men was sent inadvertently. As mentioned in the segment, others are highly unlikely to be gang members, especially the gay stylist. I can only imagine the terror that has been his life for the last three weeks.

I keep using the same word, but it’s degusting. It’s revolting. It is patently UN-American, at least as far as what America was supposed to be. Just in case I wasn’t clear… I am in no way advocating for the release of criminals. I just want them to get the legal protections that they are due in this, the (alleged) greatest country on Earth.

When and if we get through all of this, there are a lot of fucking people that need to go to jail. At minimum.

Take Care and Stay Strong, Together.

1. The talking points are quite clear on this. Whether it’s KKKaroline from behind the Presidential Seal in the briefing room, DHS Barbie Noem standing in front of prisoners being staged as props, or anyone else, they deflect questions about the legality of the operation by accusing the questioner of siding with rapists and murderers. They, to a person, talk over any attempts to clarify the question, as is standard practice in this admin, raising their voices to drown out the actual question.