Because the fascists have flooded the information zone with outrageous, poisonous, racist lies about immigrants, let’s start with this reminder: Tens of millions of people have been forced to flee to the U.S. in recent decades. Far from being “criminals”—much less the “cat-eating” monsters that MAGA depicts—these are ordinary people whose home countries have become so dangerous and/or so impoverished that they have to risk everything—their own lives and those of their children—to seek safety and survival. 

These are people who have braved dangerous jungle and bone-dry deserts, often carrying toddlers or infants. Many thousands have died along the way. 

They are not “invaders,” but many of them do come from countries that have been repeatedly invaded by the U.S. (like Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Panama.) And most of them come from countries that have been ravaged by U.S. imperialism—the real “big-time criminal” that is driving this crisis. (For one wrenching—but typical—example of what we mean, read “American Crime Case #38: The U.S. Backs El Salvador’s Death Squad Government, 1980-1992.”)

To decent people, these immigrants are our brothers and sisters! To Trump/MAGA they are “invaders,” “poisoning America’s blood,” vermin. 

Ten of Trump’s executive orders from his first day are attacks on immigrants. And make no mistake—these are racist to the core, aimed at imprisoning and/or driving out millions of nonwhite immigrants. Their purpose is to achieve Trump’s stated goal of deporting 11 million or more undocumented immigrants. But some are also crafted in such a way as to open the possibility of deporting millions of legal immigrants, as well as citizens who are descended from immigrants.

Here is a breakdown of some of them.

The Following Orders Deploy the U.S. Army Directly Against Unarmed Men, Women and Children Seeking Refuge and a Chance to Live

“Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States”:

• Authorizes the U.S. military to help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) gain “operational control” of the Mexican border. The U.S. military has killed at least seven million people since World War II invading other countries to serve U.S. imperialist domination.
• The order specifically says that both DHS and the military should revise “use of force policies” to “prioritize the safety and security” of DHS and military personnel. This is a dog whistle to heavily armed soldiers to adopt a “shoot first, ask questions later" approach to desperate and unarmed civilians. It is setting up the same logic of shooting unarmed people in “self-defense” that cops in the U.S. use to kill at least a thousand Black and Brown people every year.
• This order also raises the specter of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 in April, supposedly to “obtain complete operational control of the southern border.” The Insurrection Act allows the U.S. military to be deployed to suppress rebellion or domestic violence, including with full military force. (It is also possible that it could be used to suppress protest and rebellion against the MAGA regime’s ethnic cleansing, and/or against broader revolutionary struggle that could erupt in the coming months.) The Order is quite vague, but the fact that it raises this possibility is very ominous.

“Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States”: 

• Commands a high-level U.S. military body (U.S. Northern Command) to revise its overall plans to include “seal[ing] the border” and “repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration” (italics added). 

“Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion”:

• Says that “I [Trump] have determined that the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution.”¹  Using this “official” declaration of an “invasion,” Trump then invokes the power to ban admissions of almost all migrants and refugees at the border. [It is important to note that under international and U.S. law, people who are being persecuted in their home country have a legal right to seek asylum at the border—so Trump’s Order is a blatant violation of the law.]

Existing U.S. law makes it illegal for the military to engage in police-type operations on U.S. soil (e.g., U.S. law bans the “direct participation by a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps in a search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activity”). The declaration of a “National Emergency” is aimed at overriding these laws. In addition, Trump makes a show of saying that these troops will only be there to “support” civilian agencies. But in truth, there is no “National Emergency” in any meaningful sense, and the language of this Order—especially the part (above) about the military “repelling … mass migration,” and changing its “Rules of Engagement” are tip-offs that these troops could be used directly against migrants. [Italics added.]

As of January 22, Trump has already ordered 1,500 active-duty troops deployed to the border by the end of the month.

***

These Orders from Trump Criminalize Refugees from Dangerous or Repressive Countries

The “Securing Our Borders” order rips away a number of crucial programs, including:

• Trump has abolished Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for 531,000 Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans. TPS is a program that allows people who have arrived in the U.S. (whether under a visa of some kind or without documents) to remain here if the conditions in their home country are judged too dangerous to go back. Anyone who is familiar with conditions in Haiti (to take the sharpest example) will understand that abolishing TPS means deporting people into a situation where their lives are in imminent danger.
• People awaiting a hearing for their appeal will now be jailed—guilty until proven innocent. Every migrant detained by U.S. authorities has a right to an immigration hearing. But because these courts are underfunded, understaffed, and totally overwhelmed, people wait months or even years for their hearing. In the past, most migrants were paroled back into the community while they waited. Under this new Order they will be held in detention for the entire time.
• Abolishing an app that enables immigrants to apply for asylum from outside the U.S. This app enabled migrants outside the U.S. (tens of thousands of them living in desperate conditions in refugee camps in Mexico) to submit documentation to U.S. immigration authorities and then make an appointment to review it. Without that app, it is almost impossible to even apply for legal admission. Trump has not only shut it down going forward, but tens of thousands of appointments already made were instantly canceled. Thousands of people who had been trying for months to enter through the legally established means are now in complete despair, far from their native countries and unable to enter the U.S.

“Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program” 

• Trump has ordered the suspension of all operations of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the largest refugee settlement program in the world, which has resettled three million people in U.S. since 1975.

As a result of these and other measures taken by Trump (as well as some undertaken by Biden), the right to seek asylum—a right guaranteed both under international and U.S. law—essentially no longer exists in the U.S.!

***

These Orders Lay the Groundwork for Mass Detentions and Deportations on an Unprecedented Scale

“Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists” is an extremely sinister leap in repression of immigrants and even children of immigrants!

• Under the guise of combating the criminal cartels that are a major problem for people in Mexico, Trump says that “within 14 days,” top officials of his government should “make operational preparations regarding the implementation of any decision I make to invoke the Alien Enemies Act.”

Under the Alien Enemies Act, anyone who comes from or is descended from people who come from a country with which the U.S. is at war, or that has “invaded” the U.S., can be detained indefinitely and/or deported. That is, whether you are a citizen or not, born in the “belligerent” country or not, you are subject to detention and deportation. And there is no trial, no hearing, no due process of any kind. 

This is the law that was used to intern 120,000 people of Japanese descent in concentration camps for four years during World War 2. Even the U.S. admitted (46 years later!) that this was “shameful.” Now Trump is signifying his intent to do the same thing to immigrants, even though there is no “war” or actual “invasion” going on. If this is actually implemented, this would “legalize” the internment and/or deportation of tens of millions of people, including millions of citizens. 

To be clear, Trump has not yet invoked this law. If/when he does, he may be challenged in court. But there should be an outpouring of outrage right now that this is even under consideration!

These Orders Involve Major Political and Logistical Issues

In addition to possible legal challenges, this scale of mass deportations presents many “logistical” and political problems: 

It will require a massive increase in government forces rounding people up, and in jails, detention facilities, and perhaps “internment camps” to hold all the new detainees, and transportation to deport them. Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, is already saying he needs to double the manpower and budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and double the detention beds. 

In many major cities and some states, “sanctuary laws” have been enacted that—to one degree or another—prevent or make it difficult for ICE to abduct people in those jurisdictions. 

Some countries will refuse to accept people being deported from the U.S.

“PROTECTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AGAINST INVASION” addresses some of the obstacles in MAGA’s path:

• It threatens “Sanctuary Jurisdictions,” with the loss of federal funds and with prosecuting or suing mayors, police chiefs and other officials that don’t cooperate with mass deportations.
• In a related move, a Directive issued on January 21 gets rid of rules preventing immigration agents from grabbing people out of schools, churches, hospitals and other “sensitive locations."
• Authorizes massive efforts to expand detention facilities.
• Authorizes “State and local law enforcement officials … to perform the functions of immigration officers in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens.” Just like that, hundreds of thousands of local and state pigs will be drawn into the work of mass deportation.

***

Taken together, in his first 24 hours in power, Trump laid the groundwork for slamming the door on hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants outside the U.S., and for detaining and/or deporting tens of millions of migrants or descendants of migrants. 

This is a plan for ethnic cleansing on a truly Hitlerian scale. IT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO DOWN.

Bob Avakian (BA), in his social media message @BobAvakianOfficial REVOLUTION #106 (“Defend the Rights and Lives of People Targeted by Trump/MAGA Fascism. Take the Offensive in Opposition to This Fascism And The System That Has Given Rise to This Fascism”) provides important principles in this regard. BA says:

From the time of the outcome of the election, beginning with my message #102, I have emphasized: This is not a time for demoralization and despair—it is a time for righteous anger and revolutionary determination; and what is needed is bold defiance and a determined refusal to go along with any of this—now, and in an ongoing way.

IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY WE REFUSE TO ACCEPT A FASCIST AMERICA! is not an empty slogan—or merely some kind of general statement of opposition—it is an active orientation for building mass opposition and resistance to Trump/MAGA fascism. 

In its most important dimension, this means uniting all who can be united—mobilizing people growing into the millions, and ultimately tens of millions—in protest and resistance against this fascism.

At the same time, an important part of this will involve defending people against attacks on their rights and even on their very lives. This defense will need to involve many different dimensions: legal and political defense—and defense against attempts to carry out physical attacks on people who are targets of this fascism.

None of the outrageous attacks that we have described here are “in the bag” for Trump—he is moving so quickly in order to shock and demoralize those who massively and often courageously resisted measures during his last term that, while brutal, were nowhere close to these in regard to the level of horror he aims to bring down. What we all do can count—for a great deal—in the fight to make it impossible for Trump to carry out these attacks and implement his fascism overall, and in the fight for a whole different way to live and a fundamentally different system.