Op-Ed: It’s not about crime it’s about race
The more we watch Donald Trump and his allies at work, the more it becomes clear that his policies are racially driven. He has done a skillful job of conflating immigrants with crime. Simply stating that “we don’t want Black and brown people coming into our country” would be too blunt for most Americans to accept. Our ears are not accustomed to that kind of language. But everyone cares about personal safety, and by suggesting that Black and brown immigrants make us unsafe, he has persuaded many Americans to support him.
He began laying this groundwork even before his first term in 2016. He made speeches claiming that Mexicans are rapists. He held rallies where immigrants were vilified because an immigrant had committed a crime that harmed or killed a white person. Later he claimed that Venezuela had emptied its insane asylums into the United States. Frightening rhetoric—and very effective. The fact that immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than citizens, and that they come here for their own personal survival because they know they can find work that Americans don’t want to do is completely ignored
Today, we can see for ourselves that what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is doing in Minneapolis appears to have little to do with targeting criminals. Agents seem to be focusing broadly on people of color, removing them from communities and detaining them in camps. Little attention appears to be paid to their individual circumstances. If they are not green card holders or citizens, they are subject to removal. It does not seem to matter how they fit into local society, whom they are married to, who their children are, or what jobs they hold. They are simply expected to leave. And in the rush to get the job done it seems that it’s OK if a few US citizens are swept up as well.
This is what creates conflict between ICE and local communities. Of course, everyone wants safer neighborhoods. But sending thousands of masked, armed men—stopping people on the roadside, questioning them, breaking down doors, and entering homes without warrants, while operating without the cooperation of local law enforcement—does not foster safety. It resembles authoritarianism more than community protection. If the goal were truly to make American communities safer, the administration could consult local law enforcement and ask how best to support their efforts. If organized criminal groups exist within immigrant communities, local authorities would know who and where they are. What is happening in Minneapolis appears less about safety and more about projecting force in what is perceived to be a liberal community.
We can no longer pretend that race is not central to this issue. The administration has repeatedly said it themselves. We have heard discussions of “replacement theory” and complaints about “civilizational erasure” in Europe—the idea that allowing foreigners into Europe, dilutes and destroys centuries of culture and history. We have heard references to “shithole countries,” nearly always describing predominantly Black nations. Trump has questioned why more people from Norway do not immigrate to the United States, suggesting they would be welcome. White South Africans have been openly invited as refugees on the grounds of persecution. The implication is clear: immigration is acceptable—so long as the immigrants are white.
All the rhetoric about safety, then, serves to make racial exclusion more palatable to a broader segment of the American public. If we pause and consider what is happening, we will conclude that it has little to do with public safety. Crime rates are near historic lows. MAGAs issue is not about crime. It is about race.
Abe Shurland