And Congress just gave him the money to make that happen
Say hello to a huge, federal secret police force.
Trump’s bill, just passed, is truly evil. Even the people who wrote it and passed it know it. You know how I know? Because all the “goodies” in the bill that will benefit poor and middle class people get handed out right away. And many expire in a fairly short period of time. Meanwhile, all that will ultimately kill some of them–like huge cuts to food assistance and health care–don’t kick in until after the next major election. Now, who would write a bill in that way unless you knew it was bad?
And sadly, despite a lot of reporting to the contrary it could easily turn out being a win-win for Trump: because if he retains control of Congress in the mid-terms, he continues to do whatever he feels like on a given day, and if he loses control of Congress to Democrats, he can then blame the “Democrat Congress” for all the horrible things that are going to kick in, and also for not extending his own campaign promises like no taxes on tips, which will expire at that time based on the way the bill is written right now.
Anyway, it gets even worse. And the most terrifying component is one that’s not getting nearly enough attention IMO.
By virtue of the bill, ICE becomes bigger than the FBI. And let’s say Trump is successful in executing the biggest deportations in the history of the US. To the point at which immigrants are completely unable or afraid to come in. What then?
Does he fire the tens of thousands of new ICE agents he’s about to hire (a la Elon Musk?) Don’t think so.
Instead he’s got a new huge federal police force. Bendable. Corruptible. Why would he give that up? Well, don’t we already have the FBI? Yes, but the FBI’s function is quite specific and limited. Also, it can’t be trusted because even with purges, too many agents preceded Trump’s presidency, and abide by some form of codes. Same goes for the military, really. Meanwhile, ICE is being built by Trump from the ground up (for sure that’s where some January 6th people will go to for employment since their records are now clean thanks to Trump’s blanket pardon) and it has already been acting in dramatic ways with impunity and anonymity.
Why wouldn’t he just use them to run around and crack down on whomever he wants?
This kind of thing is already in the playbook of many other countries, even modern-day, and usually it does not work out well in terms of the enhancement of the public good. (Brazil is a good example of a nation where powerful federal police ran rampant with no consequences, and left a mark on the country that is still very much present today.)
Don’t think it’s a stretch to say an ICE of this size could very much turn into a massive personal gripe enforcement squad for Trump with almost no limitations. Almost like another branch of the armed forces, except this one focused on the “enemy within”, whomever Trump determines that to be.
And even if ICE is doing stuff it’s not legally allowed to do, the Supreme Court doesn’t seem inclined to keep it within any bounds other than it’s doing what the President wants. (As long as there’s not a Democratic president, that is.)