Let's Try Again
So, are we ready?
The short form, per The New Republic↱:
So, good policing?
Here, some detail, via that Teas Tribune↱ article:
Round up of illegals?
I mean, it's pretty clear that was the point.
It's one thing to bawl↑ about↑ how people don't know you, and all, but if you're also passing over invitations↑ to tell us what you think, it's harder for anyone else to know you or what you think. Even still, the question remains why you would support this kind of lawless, bigoted pretense of law enforcement.
Go back to the Sixties, then, and consider the possibility that Hippies were right about the jackboot pig thugs otherwise known as law enforcement, because these tattooed, masked snatchers really do fit the profile.
The cruelty is the point. Fucking up people's lives is the point. That's what people are protesting against, and it is also, regardless of whatever fancies to the other, what you're supporting. Or, if you think you're trying to make some other point, maybe try actually trying.
____________________
Notes:
Ferguson, Malcolm. "ICE Invaded Child's Birthday Party Claiming It Was a Gang Meeting". The New Republic. 4 June 2025. NewRepublic.com. 9 June 2025. https://newrepublic.com/post/196138/ice-child-birthday-party-gang-meeting-tren-de-aragua
Serrano, Alejandro. "Months after detaining 47 people accused of being Tren de Aragua in Austin, authorities offer no evidence of gang ties". The Texas Tribune. 4 June 2025. TexasTribune.org. 9 June 2025. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/04/texas-immigration-raid-hays-county-austin-venezuelan-gang/
So, are we ready?
The short form, per The New Republic↱:
In March, the Trump administration raided what they called a Tren de Arauga gang gathering in Texas, arresting dozens of people at five in the morning.
Two months later, The Texas Tribune reports that none of the people they arrested had any gang ties or even criminal records, and that the "Tren de Aragua gathering" they busted was in fact a birthday party. Forty-seven people were arrested in total, including nine children, although it's unclear if every person taken in was at the birthday party ....
.... While ICE has refused to name the detained Venezuelans, the Tribune identified 35 of them. Some were in ICE detention for weeks and were released with ankle monitors. One of the children was even kicked out of school due to missing too many days in detainment. Again, none were charged criminally.
Two months later, The Texas Tribune reports that none of the people they arrested had any gang ties or even criminal records, and that the "Tren de Aragua gathering" they busted was in fact a birthday party. Forty-seven people were arrested in total, including nine children, although it's unclear if every person taken in was at the birthday party ....
.... While ICE has refused to name the detained Venezuelans, the Tribune identified 35 of them. Some were in ICE detention for weeks and were released with ankle monitors. One of the children was even kicked out of school due to missing too many days in detainment. Again, none were charged criminally.
So, good policing?
Here, some detail, via that Teas Tribune↱ article:
A cadre of Texas and federal authorities arrived as part of an operation that resulted in the apprehension of 47 people including nine minors — at least one as young as 3 — though it is not clear whether all were at the party. The authorities later claimed they had busted a gathering of members and associates of Tren de Aragua, a violent gang that began in a Venezuelan prison before extending to other parts of Latin America.
Two were arrested on state charges related to drugs. In the only press release to date, authorities said the sting was the result of a yearlong, multi-agency investigation that revealed the gang ties. They said they would release more details "as they become available."
But two months later, authorities have yet to provide any evidence that the more than three dozen people they arrested that night have connections to the gang ....
.... The Tribune ran the 35 names found in the DPS records through databases of federal, Travis and Hays County court cases. None of the 35 had previous criminal cases in those jurisdictions, according to that review.
The Venezuelan man arrested with his family said he showed the authorities his legal work permit, Social Security number and papers related to his pending asylum case.
He said the officers told him they meant nothing.
"Ever since I've been here, I haven't had any problems with the law, no criminal record," the man said, disputing officials' statements that everyone arrested was connected to Tren de Aragua and adding that he has been working two jobs. "When they showed up, they treated us like delinquents."
Two were arrested on state charges related to drugs. In the only press release to date, authorities said the sting was the result of a yearlong, multi-agency investigation that revealed the gang ties. They said they would release more details "as they become available."
But two months later, authorities have yet to provide any evidence that the more than three dozen people they arrested that night have connections to the gang ....
.... The Tribune ran the 35 names found in the DPS records through databases of federal, Travis and Hays County court cases. None of the 35 had previous criminal cases in those jurisdictions, according to that review.
The Venezuelan man arrested with his family said he showed the authorities his legal work permit, Social Security number and papers related to his pending asylum case.
He said the officers told him they meant nothing.
"Ever since I've been here, I haven't had any problems with the law, no criminal record," the man said, disputing officials' statements that everyone arrested was connected to Tren de Aragua and adding that he has been working two jobs. "When they showed up, they treated us like delinquents."
Round up of illegals?
The Venezuelan man and his family were released from detention in Frio County after 23 days following the Hays County raid. They came home, wearing ankle monitors, to find an eviction notice on their Pflugerville home and a stack of past due bills. Their eldest son, whose birthday was going to be celebrated by splashing in the pool, was kicked out of school because of too many unexcused absences while they were detained, his dad said.
I mean, it's pretty clear that was the point.
It's one thing to bawl↑ about↑ how people don't know you, and all, but if you're also passing over invitations↑ to tell us what you think, it's harder for anyone else to know you or what you think. Even still, the question remains why you would support this kind of lawless, bigoted pretense of law enforcement.
Go back to the Sixties, then, and consider the possibility that Hippies were right about the jackboot pig thugs otherwise known as law enforcement, because these tattooed, masked snatchers really do fit the profile.
The cruelty is the point. Fucking up people's lives is the point. That's what people are protesting against, and it is also, regardless of whatever fancies to the other, what you're supporting. Or, if you think you're trying to make some other point, maybe try actually trying.
____________________
Notes:
Ferguson, Malcolm. "ICE Invaded Child's Birthday Party Claiming It Was a Gang Meeting". The New Republic. 4 June 2025. NewRepublic.com. 9 June 2025. https://newrepublic.com/post/196138/ice-child-birthday-party-gang-meeting-tren-de-aragua
Serrano, Alejandro. "Months after detaining 47 people accused of being Tren de Aragua in Austin, authorities offer no evidence of gang ties". The Texas Tribune. 4 June 2025. TexasTribune.org. 9 June 2025. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/04/texas-immigration-raid-hays-county-austin-venezuelan-gang/
