Insurrection – mostly peaceful of course

Insurrection

“Insurrection – an organized and usually violent act of revolt or rebellion against an established government or governing authority of a nation-state or other political entity by a group of its citizens or subjects; also, any act of engaging in such a revolt.”

Democrats labelled January 6 as an “insurrection.” Although it seemed more like a frat party (with an unfortunate death) than an insurrection, I suppose that it does qualify given the definition above. The question is now whether the democrats will call what is happening with the ICE protests and especially what is occurring in California as an insurrection. It is but I am not holding my breath.

There have been organized protests against the ICE raids throughout the country. Boston, Portland, New York, Philadelphia, Aurora, Colorado, Fort Worth, Phoenix, Atlanta and other cities have seen these protests with the latest, largest and most violent (however mostly peaceful) one being in Los Angeles where just over 1,000 folk just happened to materialize to protest actions by ICE. These protests are not organic but are well organized. In Georgia the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which helped organize a protest in Dekalb Country, Georgia on Saturday against Trump’s mass deportation policies said “We’re going to stand up, build this movement, and fight back.” Then there is the “Communities Not Cages” National Day of Action hosted by the American Friends Service Committee and Immigrant Justice Network calling for an end to Trump’s immigration detention and deportation policies. Is it no surprise that leftist/Marxist groups like the progressive Working Families Party and the Service Employees International Union are behind the demonstrations? Groups like the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights have funded the Los Angeles ICE protests while promoting a radical political agenda. By the way, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights received grants from the Biden Administration totaling over $750,000. I bet no illegals are protesting for fear of being arrested and deported.

I believe that efforts to topple the government via these demonstrations is a loser. We have had the riots associated with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the Watts riots in 1992, Furgerson, Missouri, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and now illegal immigration. All in some way tested the fabric of the country. All were exploited by the radical left. And all were found wanting.

Trump campaigned on closing the border but also on mass deportations. The border closing was a winning issue. Arresting and deporting criminals is also a winning issue – despite democrats making a fool out of themselves with regard to Abrego Garcia. But mass deportations – not so much. I noted that the mass deportations of the 20+million illegals in the country were not practical and I did not want to live in a country with Gestapo-type raids with people being stopped and asked to show their papers. Mind you, I am 100 percent in favor of locking up criminals and either deporting them or putting in jail. I am less sanguine about raiding slaughterhouses like they did in Morristown, Tennessee or Home Depot or your local restaurant to ferret out illegals. Recently, there was a raid on an Italian restaurant in a trendy neighborhood in Los Angeles where around 20 ICE agents arrested and handcuffed workers. Needless to say the democrats in California had a field day, uniformly condemning the raid. Not publicized was that ICE had warrants for specific criminal activity in the arrest of those taken in the raid and were not after some random dishwasher.

What remains to be seen is whether the public reaction to the ICE raids is favorable to the democrats or is outweighed by the reaction to the violence of the protests. Burning cars, spitting on Federal agencies, violence directed at those agents, disrupting commerce, blocking streets and homemade Molotov cocktails have never been a winning issue for the public at large. So I believe the violent protests will work against the insurrectionists.

What would Harold do? I would do is to require all able bodied illegals to register to get a work permit. No work permit equals deportation. This would equivalent to a guest worker program. I would then allow them to travel freely across borders with the work permit also serving as a visa. Not doing so opens the door for the democrats to try to exploit the issue by tugging at peoples’ emotions. I would also speedily deport all illegals who commit crimes, forfeiting their work authorization permits. I also want the illegal crossings stopped and any illegal trying to enter be denied entry. I would still allow legal immigration, per the law.

The image of ICE forcefully entering budlings and placing people under arrest who have no criminal records is a photo-op for the democrats to try to sway opinion against Trump. It also offers them the opportunity to team up with the socialist and anarchist elements who want not only a regime change but the installation of a socialist government as evidence by the organizers of the protests. It was no surprise that the state president of the Service Employees International Union was arrested in the Los Angeles riots. The SEIU is thoroughly socialist and is a mainstay of the professional left. Here is what the National Center for Policy Public Research says:

“The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a North American labor union. Easily recognizable by their purple t-shirts, SEIU members flock to protest conservative and free-market events and to campaign for democratic candidates. SEIU leaders are closely tied to pro-socialist ideals, and critics suggest its members engage in thuggery.

SEIU, through its political action committee (PAC), donates millions of dollars mostly to democratic political candidates each election cycle.”

In Los Angeles, Trump called out the California National guard to quell the demonstrations and to protect federal property. California’s governor is now suing to stop the deployment. While the Los Angeles police chief said he needed help, the mayor denied that help was needed. In other words, it is a mess with the democrats trying to exploit the situation as painting ICE as government’s terrorists. First the democrat strategy was to talk about due process and now it is focus on the humanitarian aspect of seizures and deportations. Again, all this would go away under a guest worker program. But the administration’s point man on immigration, Stephen Miller wants to severely limit legal immigration and completely shut down illegal immigration. Actions on ending H-1B visas, foreign student visas, and banning travel from over a dozen countries make apparent that the end game is to stop all immigration, both legal and illegal making my notion of work permits for illegals at best wistful thinking.