Robert Dickerman: What fascism in America looks like

On March 13, Red Fire Farms joined a federal lawsuit with seven other farms, contesting the federal government’s freeze of grants and reimbursements affecting farms. Seven days later, on March 20, ICE arrested four Red Fire Farm workers at their homes in Springfield. ICE surrounded one home with 20 law enforcement vehicles. Two of the workers were arrested in front of their children after ICE agents reportedly broke through their front doors. Other family members present at the raid were threatened. The ICE personnel had no arrest warrants, although, by law, warrants are required for such forced entry.

Why were these farmworkers for this tiny farm found and targeted? I suspect that they were found and targeted because of their employers’ resistance to the Trump administration’s freeze on farm funding. Yes, I think that it is likely that ICE specifically chose to target these particular farmworkers because the workers’ employers had the guts to stand up to the Trump administration for themselves and other farmers in court.

Of course, this will probably never be proven – ICE doesn’t respond to questions, and doesn’t answer to anyone, apparently not even the courts. A local television station interview with the farmworkers’ lawyer can be seen online. This is what fascism in America looks like. Remember, if you publicly disagree with the Trump administration, you may be next, and if they ship you to El Salvador, you won’t be coming back.

Karoline Leavitt has said Trump wants to send “bad” American citizens to El Salvador, as well as migrants.A GoFundMe to raise money for legal expenses for the workers and living expenses for their families who are now without wage income, has been set up by a friend of the affected family at https://gofund.me/1a41e67d.

Robert Dickerman

Northfield