American Gulag
The battle against Trump’s mass incarceration project
The foundational technology of authoritarian control
It is a chillingly consistent pattern throughout history. The creation of “The Other” is rarely a coincidence or a side effect; it is the premeditated point.
By creating a terrifying enemy of the people, the tyrant positions himself as the only possible savior. The message is simple: “I am the only thing standing between you and the monsters at the gate.”
Once a group is labeled sub-human, vile, parasitic, and criminal, moral barriers against violence are dissolved, allowing the regime to commit atrocities with the active consent of the loyal tribe, united by shared grievance, fear, and hate.
Thus, the justification of secret police, surveillance, and the suspension of civil liberties. Soon come the mass prisons, internment camps, gulags, and concentration camps.
AN EXPLOSIVE EXPANSION OF WHAT IS ALREADY THE WORLD’S LARGEST IMMIGRATION DETENTION SYSTEM
This year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is executing a massive expansion of its detention system, funded by a $45 billion congressional allocation aimed at supporting the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy. The agency aims to increase its daily detention capacity from approximately 70,000 to more than 100,000–150,000 beds.
ICE is bypassing traditional prison construction by purchasing and converting large commercial warehouses into “mega” detention centers. These facilities are designed to hold between 5,000 and 10,000 detainees each—significantly larger than the largest U.S. federal prisons.
Because they are perceived as easier to “roll over,” small towns are often targeted for their economic and legal vulnerabilities, even when their infrastructure lacks the capacity to serve such mega-facilities.
In the process, private companies are already reaping billions in profits and soaring stock values as they cash in on incarceration.
But Americans are pushing back in Utah, Oklahoma, Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire, Louisiana, and Mississippi, sometimes succeeding in pressuring warehouse owners to withdraw from their sales agreements with ICE.
As the nation continues to witness ICE brutality against immigrants and protesters in the streets of their communities, and the growing incarceration of children and people with no criminal records, the administration’s demonization of them as “the worst of the worst” is wearing thin.
When people stop fearing “The Other,” they begin to look more closely at the person in power.
Resources:
Trump Administration Aims to Spend $45 Billion to Expand Immigrant Detention ~ NYT
ICE Is Buying Up Mega Warehouses Across America ~ The New Republic
As American Views of ICE Dim, Warehouses Become a Symbol of Resistance ~ NYT
Federal immigration officials scout warehouses as they eye more detention space ~ ABC
‘Why Is This Happening to Us?’ Daily Number of Kids in ICE Detention Jumps 6x Under Trump ~ The Marshall Project
Trump’s New “Prison Camp” Threat Unleashes Fury Even in MAGA Country ~ The New Republic
US seeks to turn deportations into an efficient business ‘like Amazon’ ~ Associated Press
Map Shows Where ICE is Expanding Immigrant Detention Facilities ~ Newsweek
Federal immigration officials scout warehouses as they eye more detention space ~ ABC
Proposed detention center, immigration crackdown spurs flurry of Salt Lake City protests ~KSL
"cash in on incarceration" - how can those words go together?