Congress Approves Mass Abduction Program
The United States Congress has passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill," delivering to President Trump not just the gutting of Medicaid, yet also the largest expansion of domestic law enforcement in American history. Hidden within the sweeping budget reconciliation package, Congress approved $75 billion in new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement—money that will transform ICE into the single largest federal law enforcement agency the nation has ever seen, with a budget surpassing even the FBI.¹
We are here because of cowardice in the Senate. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska possessed the power to stop this mass abduction program with a single vote. Instead, she pretended powerlessness while cutting deals for Alaska projects, trading away what she knew was right for the country in exchange for political benefits to her state.² "My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we're not there yet," she said after voting yes.³ We do not hire representatives to hope—we hire them to act. Her capitulation eliminated the final obstacle to funding America's detention and exportation system.
What Congress Actually Funded
This isn't immigration enforcement. What's happening across the country represents mass abduction and detention without due process, where agents arrest people based on appearance, ship them to remote facilities designed for maximum suffering, and export them to foreign countries without legal proceedings.⁴ The system already targets U.S. citizens, and Trump has explicitly stated his intention to expand this further, telling reporters "Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too. So maybe that will be the next job."⁵ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the administration is actively exploring this expansion, saying Trump has "discussed it privately" and would pursue it "if there is a legal pathway."⁶
The militarized operations we witnessed in Los Angeles reveal exactly what Congress just funded for nationwide deployment. Masked agents in military gear refused to identify themselves while detaining people at bus stops and workplaces.⁷ Armed operatives pointed weapons at citizens who tried to photograph their license plates.⁸ Combat-equipped troops used mine-resistant vehicles designed for Iraq and Afghanistan to arrest people washing cars and waiting for public transportation.⁹ Nearly 5,000 military personnel deployed against American civilians whose apparent crime was looking for work or taking the bus.¹⁰
Congress just gave Trump $75 billion to replicate this in dozens of cities simultaneously. While everyone focuses on the devastating Medicaid cuts, this equally catastrophic reality means the terror tactics tested in Los Angeles will become the daily experience for communities across America.
The administration has already begun staffing these operations with individuals pardoned for violent crimes against law enforcement. Jared L. Wise, a former FBI agent who encouraged January 6th rioters to "kill" police officers, now serves as a senior adviser in the Justice Department's "Weaponization Working Group."¹¹ This signals a fundamental shift toward using federal law enforcement as a tool of political retaliation rather than constitutional governance.
The infrastructure includes detention facilities designed for deliberate cruelty. Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades exemplifies this approach—officials explicitly chose the location to maximize suffering through environmental extremes, naming it after the notorious federal prison to "send a message."¹² People are being shipped to foreign prisons without hearings, exported to countries they may have never seen, and disappeared into a system that prioritizes speed over legal rights.¹³
Why This Breaks Democratic Norms
Under the American constitutional system, law enforcement agencies operate with carefully defined powers, subject to judicial oversight and congressional appropriation. Even immigration proceedings have traditionally required individual hearings before immigration judges, legal representation opportunities, and appeals processes that respect due process rights.
What's happening now bypasses these protections entirely. The Constitution's Fourth Amendment protects all people within U.S. borders from unreasonable searches and seizures, regardless of immigration status. Due process requirements mean that deportation proceedings must follow established legal procedures. The current system abandons these safeguards—people are being detained and exported based on appearance, language, or simply being in the wrong place when agents arrive.¹⁴
Professional law enforcement standards require officers to be identifiable, accountable, and trained in constitutional limitations. The hiring of qualified personnel based on merit rather than political loyalty has been a cornerstone of professional law enforcement since the civil service reforms of the late 19th century. The nation's experience with internment camps during World War II taught painful lessons about the dangers of mass detention based on identity rather than individual wrongdoing.
The Stakes for American Quality of Life
This expansion creates a domestic force larger than the FBI, DEA, and ATF combined, operating with unprecedented funding and diminished oversight.¹⁵ The economic destruction will devastate American families through a cascade of industry collapses.
When you remove millions of workers who build houses, pick food, and care for patients, entire sectors shut down. Construction sites close because there aren't enough workers to build homes. Food prices skyrocket because crops rot in fields. Hospitals close because they can't staff essential positions. American workers don't get promoted into better jobs—they get laid off because the businesses they work for can no longer operate.
This mass removal of workers will shrink the entire American economy by more than 7 percent, eliminating millions of jobs for U.S.-born workers in the process.¹⁶ The resulting inflation will make everything more expensive for everyone.¹⁷ Meanwhile, immigrant communities who currently pay $90 billion in taxes annually will be gone, leaving massive holes in budgets for schools, roads, and emergency services.¹⁸ This happens precisely as the government spends hundreds of billions on detention camps and deportation flights while cutting taxes for the wealthy. The result: overcrowded classrooms with fewer teachers, crumbling infrastructure that doesn't get repaired, longer wait times for emergency services, and reduced police and fire protection in the communities that need it most.
The deeper threat extends beyond economics. When federal agencies can ignore constitutional limitations, conduct mass arrests without due process, and operate detention facilities that deliberately inflict suffering, no community remains safe from similar treatment. The infrastructure being built today can easily be redirected tomorrow against any group deemed politically inconvenient.
Lessons from On Tyranny
In On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, historian Timothy Snyder provides practical guidance for recognizing and resisting authoritarianism based on how democracies have fallen in the past.¹⁹ With Congress having just funded the largest expansion of domestic law enforcement in American history—one that targets both immigrants and U.S. citizens through mass detention without due process—these lessons provide concrete actions we can take to resist the normalization of authoritarian tactics.
Note that resistance is always guided by Lesson 20: Be as courageous as you can. We are not all positioned to take each of these actions, consider what you can do given your circumstances. Know that for every action of resistance you engage in, you are also representing those who are not able to stand up due to vulnerability, ability, or means.
Lesson 1: Do not obey in advance. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible. When communities pre-emptively avoid public spaces, stop sending children to school, or curtail normal activities out of fear, they normalize the terror these operations are designed to create.
How to resist: Continue your normal routines when safe to do so. Send children to school, use public transportation, shop at targeted businesses, and maintain community activities. Your visible presence in public spaces demonstrates that terror tactics have not succeeded in controlling community life.
Lesson 6: Be wary of paramilitaries. Armed groups that operate outside normal legal structures pose fundamental threats to democracy. The use of unidentifiable agents, military equipment against civilians, and the hiring of January 6 pardoned individuals into law enforcement creates exactly the conditions Snyder warns against.
How to resist: Document and report paramilitary activity when you see it. Take photos and videos from a safe distance. Share documentation with journalists and civil rights organizations. Demand that your representatives investigate the legal authority for these operations and who is being hired to conduct them.
Lesson 10: Believe in truth. Authoritarian movements attack the very concept of verifiable truth. When agencies refuse to identify their agents, provide conflicting information about operations, or hire people with histories of violence against law enforcement, they attack citizens' ability to understand reality.
How to resist: Support independent journalism that investigates these operations. Verify information through multiple sources before sharing. Fact-check official statements against documented evidence. Share primary source documentation like videos, photos, and court records rather than opinions.
Lesson 11: Investigate. The refusal of agents to identify themselves and the hiring of extremists makes investigation essential for understanding who has authority and what they're actually doing.
How to resist: File Freedom of Information Act requests for information about operations in your area. Research the backgrounds of people being hired into these agencies. Ask questions at town halls and public meetings. Support organizations that are conducting oversight and investigation. Contact local journalists with tips and documentation.
Lesson 12: Make eye contact and small talk. Authoritarian movements depend on social isolation—breaking down human connections that create solidarity and mutual support. The terror tactics are designed to atomize communities and make people afraid to interact with neighbors.
How to resist: Maintain human connections across community lines. Talk to neighbors, especially those who might be targeted. Organize community events that bring people together. Create mutual aid networks. Show up for local meetings and maintain social solidarity that crosses ethnic and citizenship lines.
Lesson 14: Establish a private life. Authoritarian regimes depend on surveillance and the breakdown of private spaces where dissent can develop. When agents refuse identification and conduct warrantless arrests, they create an atmosphere where no space feels safe from government intrusion.
How to resist: Create secure communication channels with trusted friends and family. Meet in private spaces to discuss concerns and organize responses. Use encrypted messaging apps for sensitive conversations. Build relationships of trust that don't depend on digital communication. Maintain spaces—both physical and mental—that remain outside government surveillance and control.
Final Thoughts
Congress has just funded the infrastructure to transform America into a police state where agents can abduct anyone—citizen or not—without due process or accountability. The machinery of mass detention and exportation is now fully operational, and Trump has explicitly stated his intention to expand it to include U.S. citizens he deems undesirable. What we witnessed in Los Angeles was just the beginning. History shows us that authoritarian systems depend on our compliance and silence—when communities organize, document, and resist together, even the most powerful oppressive machinery can be stopped. Keep showing up, keep using your voice, and keep building community.
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Democracy Docket. "We heard your feedback and added an audio version of this premium newsletter!" June 28, 2025. Newsletter by Marc Elias.