Remember that bully from school – insecure and angry, surrounding himself with followers that were even more insecure and unhappy. He strived for attention and stirred up trouble if only to keep the spotlight on himself with his crew. He wasn’t strong as much as desiring to appear strong. To distract from his more obvious frailties (grades, communication, social standing – you name it, the frailties were countless). Well, we now have a US government led by bullies – and no matter how much lipstick, hair gel, or stern glares they wear, they still don’t receive the level of respect and adulation they crave.

No place appears to be more emblematic of the ‘bully’ pulpit as the Department of Homeland Security, led by Kristi Noem (former governor of South Dakota), seemingly in charge of securing our borders but most prominently engaged in immigration enforcement and TSA activity in airports. The Trump Administration began their immigration law enforcement initiative with the idea that too many criminals had been allowed into the country and that these criminals would be hunted down and deported. They were gang members, violent criminals, threats to our way of life. Lots of populist stuff there (because who is going to favor letting criminals remain in the country). But that’s turning out to be a ruse for a mass deportation scheme, to deport at least 1 million immigrants in a year. Not because the administration can identify 1 million criminals and issue warrants for their arrest – but because they ‘poison the blood of this country‘. You may surmise what is they truly believe is the source of that ‘poison’.

That ‘poison’ amounts to 11 million people living in 6.3 million households (often with US citizens), with 8.3 million of these people employed (and paying taxes). They work in the jobs that Americans rarely care to apply for – farm workers, hospitality work, kitchens, construction – the lowest paid trades and roles available. Essentially, your fruit and vegetables, your poultry and pork, your new homes and home repairs, your low cost manufactured goods – they are brought to you by immigrants, largely undocumented. Without them, the crops rot, homes don’t get built, manufacturers don’t meet demand. Without them, the cost of your groceries goes up, along with everything else. And without them, $60B in federal taxes aren’t collected each year (another $40B in state taxes) – multiply those numbers by 10 to get to the numbers comparable for the budget discussion underway in DC.

The demonization of immigrants is an American tradition – generation after generation has used immigrants as scapegoats for any woe they experience. No matter what background your family has had (other than Native American, that is), your ‘people’ have been scapegoated as unwanted immigrants in America. In this sense, this era of MAGA is no different. What is different is the scale and the vitriol that is being attached to the undocumented immigrant population. Even within the Trump Administration, Stephen Miller has risen to the top of the pro-deportation set – telling DHS that they need to pick up 3000 people per day to deport (they are currently deporting less than half that, less than during the Biden years, to their embarrassment). And thus the ICE raids on employers, Home Depot parking lots, and 7-11s has picked up.

Which brought us to this week, when the communities affected began to vociferously protest. Now in the US, protests are a magnet for both principled advocates as well as violent troublemakers. Doesn’t matter if it is right wing or left wing – its a mixture of ‘good trouble’ and bad trouble (criminal activity). The communities in LA County were no different. Much of the protests were peaceful – like this and this. The LA Times did a nice piece on the reality (and the social media misinformation) on the ground. But protests were a distraction from the bully – and thus the bully escalated. First 4,000 National Guard troops were (illegally) called up to ‘protect’ the federal facilities in downtown LA and the ICE personnel in Paramount and Compton (suburbs of LA), in the name of fighting the ‘lawlessness’ (Trump’s word). Then another 700 Marine troops were added to the mix. What is the upshot? More protests. More tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Less than 50 criminal charges (and yes, a few hundred misdemeanors for protesters who don’t disperse when told to). But how is Hollywood Blvd – same as always. Ventura Blvd – peaceful (and still a challenge to find parking). Koreatown? South Central? The Grove? Nothing happening. Definitely a disappointment to the bullies.

The Bully-In-Chief, would-be King started expressing his hurt by mid-week – not to raise the stakes, but to put his tail between his legs. On Thursday, the President placed a ‘pause‘ on employer raids in agriculture, restaurants and hotels. That’s at least 25% of the undocumented population. I anticipate some lobbying from the construction industry to get added to this list (pulling the % over 40%). That doesn’t help this food packaging employer who already lost half his workforce. Or this roofer who lost a third of his employees. But the TV ads from Noem continue to threaten deportation to everyone, asylum hearing scheduled or not. And just to make sure that everyone gets the point, Noem’s ICE agents took a US Senator to the ground and handcuffed him for attempting to ask Noem a question at a press conference.

And today, on the streets of Washington, DC, thousands of US troops accompanied by tanks and cannons paraded to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Army – and the President’s birthday. What a change from the sentiment of President Eisenhower who viewed the Soviet military parades as a show of weakness. And he was right – we certainly aren’t safer when saber rattling comes to our communities.

And the national disgrace continues…