Blog Re-Brand: "First They Came for the Immigrants"
Because this is what it's really all about. First they came for the immigrants ... and I am speaking out precisely because I'm not an immigrant.
I am re-branding my blog First They Came for the Immigrants, because, well, that is what is happening. They are coming for the immigrants first, because they think most Americans won’t care enough to speak out.
As a reminder, below is the full text of the original, now-iconic poem written after World War II by Martin Niemőller, a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. An ardent anti-Communist, Niemőller initially supported Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, but later came to regret it, and was held in two concentration camps as a result of leading a group of German clergy who expressed their opposition to Hitler.
The poem is a truncated, poetic version of a confession Niemőller made in a public speech in 1946, lamenting the fact that he and others had not spoken out against Hitler and his regime back in the 1930s.
In light of the ways in which the U.S. government is intent on dehumanizing, terrifying, arresting, detaining and deporting immigrants, an informal “re-write” of the first line of Niemőller’s poem seems appropriate.
I don’t write only about immigration, but the field of U.S. immigration law is where I spent my professional life for 30 years. So when I can leverage my expertise or experience to elucidate what the Trump regime is doing in the area of immigration, I will continue to do so. I have the privilege of possessing some knowledge that I can share, a platform through which to do so, and the freedom of being retired from paid employment so I have no job to lose and no corporate overlords to whom I must answer. And to state the obvious: I am a white, well-educated, natural-born U.S. citizen (not an immigrant or even a naturalized citizen), so that affords me some protection. I cannot be deported for speaking my mind.
The real point is that while much of the new regime’s oppression will be borne by immigrants in the first instance, that isn’t where this all ends. It’s where it begins.
If you think warrantless arrests, deprivation of constitutional rights, detention without charges, banishment without due process and all the rest will happen only to immigrants, you haven’t been paying attention.
I’ll end this post with some links to articles that illustrate what I mean. I can’t say I feel too sorry for Trump voters who are now experiencing a kind of “buyer’s remorse,” but at some point we will all suffer.
What will you tell your children or grandchildren about what you did to stop the destruction of democracy in the early 21st century? Did you speak up, or did you stay silent?
I, for one, cannot stay silent. I can’t.
Links:
Columbia Activist Has Not Been Allowed to Speak Privately With Lawyers (NYT, 3/12/25)
U.S. citizen child recovering from brain cancer deported to Mexico with undocumented parents (NBC News, 3/12/25)
Trump’s Revenge on Law Firms Seen as Undermining Justice System (NYT, 3/12/25)
Venezuelan deported from US and held in Guantanamo for 15 days says it was ‘hell’ (CNN, 3/12/25)
Trump Supporters Regretting Their Votes After DOGE Cuts (The New Republic, 3/10/25)
Why Immigrants Fear Trump Even if They Voted for Him (NYT, 3/10/25)
Trump Agenda May Lead to Buyer’s Remorse Among His Voters (New York Magazine, 3/7/25)
‘Just following Hispanic people': Citizen detained by ICE questions vote for Trump (NBC Washington, 3/6/25)
In Michigan, some Arab American voters revisit their support for Trump after he suggests “take over” of Gaza Strip (CBS News, 2/26/25)