monkinetic the blog

Not All Americans

It’s time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me. Trump’s election victory speech

When I hear Trump speak about “all Americans” - I cannot in looking at his actions believe that he means African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinx Americans, or any other minority, disadvantaged population here.

Armed white protesters are “very fine people”, black and brown protesters are “THUGS”.

Trump says that he defends the rights of “citizens”; but citizen is a legal/political construct that can be redefined and narrowed to exclude those without power or privilege.

Consider the new (Feb 2020) Denaturalization Section of the Justice Department:

The Denaturalization Section “underscores the department’s commitment to bring justice to terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders and other fraudsters who illegally obtained naturalization,” Joseph H. Hunt, the head of the Justice Department’s civil division, said in a statement.

No one wants “terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders” in the country, but –

“The Denaturalization Section will further the department’s efforts to pursue those who unlawfully obtained citizenship status and ensure that they are held accountable for their fraudulent conduct,” Mr. Hunt said.

Trump’s Justice Department considers entering the country illegally to be a crime (of the worst sort, considering the resources they have put behind CBP and ICE). There’s the real goal: the power to strip the rights and liberties from any immigrant who has been here as a productive member of society long enough (7 years?) to become naturalized.

The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, established after the civil war to establish and protect the citizenship of former slaves, says in part:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

The Denaturalization Section is in practicality an end-run around the Citizenship Clause of the Constitution. And to drag out a long post longer…

This clause reversed a portion of the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which had declared that African Americans were not and could not become citizens of the United States or enjoy any of the privileges and immunities of citizenship. Citizenship Clause (Wikipedia)

The goals of denaturalization laws now are the same racist goals as the Dred Scott laws of the post-US Civil War era.

#racism #dredscott #uspol