Anti-ICE Uprisings Boil as the Government Doubles-Down
A migrant uprising in New Jersey, expert opinions on the brewing war with Iran, and more are covered in this week’s digest.
This article is part of a digest series delivered every Thursday, highlighting what I find to be the most interesting stories covering politics, working class struggles, and international current events of the week, along with my own brief commentary.
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Today is Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States (though “the end” is stretching the truth a bit). When thinking about the challenges of the current moment, remember that slavery, a moral aberration largely only recognized as such in retrospect, was not defeated through capitulation and compromise with its defenders, but a coordinated campaigns of civil disobedience, public messaging, and sometimes even violence, culminating in official sponsorship of emancipation when pressure became too difficult to ignore, even in the face of fierce and deadly opposition from slavery’s own vanguard in the South.
U.S. Politics
“Disgraceful”: Judge Refuses to Order Mahmoud Khalil’s Release, Siding With DOJ - Sharon Zhang/Truthout
Mahmoud Khalil, one of many Palestinian activists who has had their legal residency unilaterally revoked, has spent over 100 days in one of the harshest immigration detention centers in the country, missing the birth of his first child. When a judge proclaimed that Mahmoud could not be held any longer on the basis of the government’s primary charge, it seemed for a moment that his release was imminent. But wielding semantics and delay tactics, the judge has enabled the DOJ to continue holding Mahmoud, as his lawyers and the ACLU outline in more detail via the article linked above.
Here is my original piece detailing Mahmoud’s case in more detail:
Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian Activist and Permanent American Resident, Disappeared by ICE
In a vicious assault on First Amendment rights, the Trump Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have detained Mahmoud Khalil, a law-abiding permanent resident of the United States, seemingly on the basis that he has been an Arab figurehead for the Palestinian cause at Columbia Universit…
BREAKING NEWS: Migrant Uprising Inside NJ ICE Facility Delaney Hall - Dissent in Bloom
Last week, at a New Jersey detention center where migrants were being holed up and starved, a handful of migrants clawed their way out and organized an escape. This article, which broke the story, details the anguish that both the people connected with the detainees outside of the gates, as well as the people within the walls of the cage, endured, leading to rising tensions that culminated in the uprising.
LA immigrant advocates asked whether they funded recent anti-ICE protests - Helen Jeong/NBC Los Angeles
Faux-populist senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has sent a letter to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and Union del Barrio, seemingly insinuating that these groups are going to be subject to imminent penalization and investigation by the federal government for allegedly stoking violence. Hawley currently sits as the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism. These groups have been integral to organizing many of the actions and demonstrations happening across L.A. and beyond.
With Newfound Sway in City Hall, Portland’s Democratic Socialists Hope to Redefine the City’s Priorities - Taylor Griggs/Portland Mercury
The DSA has recently experienced a string of victories in Portland, with multiple city council seats being won by dues-paying members. Now, in the wake of rising anti-oligarch sentiment nationwide, it appears that a set of sweeping pro-working class fiscal policies may be within reach for Portlanders.
Global Politics
Can Iran Defeat Israel? - John J. Mearsheimer
In this segment, international relations scholar John J. Mearsheimer outlines the material geopolitical incentives driving a war with Iran, Iran’s far greater capacity for waging a protracted military campaign compared to other recent American adversaries in the Middle East, and the potential ramifications that would stem from direct U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Affordable housing must not be mistaken for low-quality housing – Minister - GhanaWeb
As Africa’s population explodes and the continent continues to industrialize, housing demands are becoming an increasingly important component of the conversation. Ghana has sought to remedy the deficit in housing by launching an Affordable Housing Project.
At the Africa Real Estate Conference and Expo in Accra, Gizella Tetteh-Abgouti, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, reiterated the need for affordable housing, while reminding the audience that affordable need not be conflated with low quality. She called on stakeholders to embrace innovative thinking in order to achieve Ghana’s ambitious housing targets.