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Collection of worrying incidents

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion highlights alarming incidents regarding the treatment of foreign nationals and academics in the United States, particularly under the Trump administration. A French scientist was denied entry due to his critical views on Trump policies, while an Irish charity criticized Conor McGregor's visit to the White House, linking it to the normalization of sexual violence. Additionally, a Venezuelan soccer player was deported under the Alien Enemies Act due to a tattoo, raising concerns about the implications of such actions on freedom of expression and human rights. These incidents collectively illustrate a troubling trend in U.S. immigration and civil liberties.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of U.S. immigration laws and policies
  • Knowledge of academic freedom and its implications
  • Familiarity with the Alien Enemies Act
  • Awareness of the socio-political climate under the Trump administration
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  • Research the implications of the Alien Enemies Act on current immigration practices
  • Explore the concept of academic freedom and its legal protections
  • Investigate the normalization of controversial figures in political discourse
  • Examine the impact of U.S. immigration policies on international relations
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for human rights advocates, immigration lawyers, political scientists, and anyone interested in the intersection of immigration policy and civil liberties in the United States.

US President Trump is bothered by a video from the Democrats – and is threatening them with death for “insurrectionary behavior.” The Justice Department is getting involved. One senator sees a pattern here.

Washington – In the dispute over threats made by US President Donald Trump against several Democratic members of Congress, Senator Elissa Slotkin has weighed in. “It’s no secret that the president is trying to use the Justice Department as a weapon,” she said in an interview with ABC News. “We’ve seen him do this to various people on multiple occasions. It’s a tool for intimidation.”

Source: https://www.fnp.de/politik/us-senatorin-trump-missbraucht-justizministerium-zr-94051787.html

Comment: Never before have I so fervently hoped that what I read online is fake news. Fascism at its best!
 
fresh_42 said:
Another example of how easily an uneducated marauder can effectively damage the USA
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I still refuse to consider these actions as a one-man operation. The problem is not what he says, it is others listening and agreeing with him - or even allowing him without intervening.
 

College freshman is deported flying home for Thanksgiving surprise, despite court order​


A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney.

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan International Airport on November 20 when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and within two days, sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age 7.

“She’s absolutely heartbroken,” Pomerleau said. “Her college dream has just been shattered.”
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Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/29/us/college-student-deported-honduras-thanksgiving

Comment: Yet another scandalous incident. It totally fits into the row of news I recently read: a German popstar returning from the USA because she was afraid of being eventually deported despite being a Greencard holder with a permanent residence and work permit (living in the US since 2015), Sir David Attenbrorogh publicly advising all people to leave in case they were not natural-born US citizens. Leave in time - as long as you have a choice!
 
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I am once again shaken by recent news from the USA. Like many democracies at present, Germany is also suffering from the resurgence of the extreme right. This is regrettable, alarming, and truly shocking, especially here. Unlike the USA, we have many parties representing diverse political currents. This includes people who can justifiably be called Nazis. The German intelligence services have the task of monitoring whether this is still within the bounds of the constitution. Therefore, the Nazi party is being monitored by the intelligence services, and quite a few people are discussing banning the party because it does not clearly present itself as loyal to the constitution. However, such a ban is very difficult to enforce legally. Unlike in the USA, and contrary to American propaganda, freedom of speech carries significant weight in German courts, and any applications for a ban are subject to intensive review. German courts have, however, confirmed the assessment of this Nazi party as "definitely right-wing extremist," thereby indirectly confirming the legitimacy of its current surveillance by German intelligence services. That is the situation.

Now for today's top story: "The sanctions against HateAid could be just the beginning. According to SPIEGEL research, the Trump administration considered punishing German civil servants months ago – because the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Germany's domestic intelligence agency) is monitoring the AfD (Alternative for Germany) [ed.: the Nazis]."

Sources:


In plain terms, this means: The US is trying to protect German Nazis! That I have to witness this is literally shocking, after all the blood toll Americans once had to pay to get rid of the German Nazis. A fact for which I am, incidentally, extremely grateful, and I have always taken every opportunity to thank WWII veterans personally whenever I have encountered them (primarily online). And now, of all people, Americans are protecting Nazis, whom they once literally fought against.

Sorry, but I had to get that off my chest.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
You can thank JD Vance and the tech bros like Elon Musk for that. We have another 3 years to go. Who knows what is after that. Truly scary times for anyone paying attention.
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The German constitution is something we can really be proud of. It is modern and contains many lessons learned from our history. It is, compared to the Constitution of 1918, which turned out to be too liberal, liberal, and simultaneously attempts to prevent certain events from repeating. Our intelligence services (federal and state-wise) are sworn in to protect the Constitution(s). To attack this task by a foreign country is not only none of your business, but also a direct attack on our efforts to prevent another Nazi dictatorship.

I would have never believed that, especially that the USA would be helping German Nazis. I grew up in a completely different world in which GIs weren't considered occupants but friends. The largest US Army hospital outside the US homeland is still in Germany. I don't think that becoming officially enemies is a good idea, but the current administration is trying to achieve exactly this.
 
fresh_42 said:
I don't think that becoming officially enemies is a good idea, but the current administration is trying to achieve exactly this.
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I'm afraid to report that the US may not be classic enemies with Germany and EU, but we certainly are not allies under the Trump admin. The US has been captured by Russia. Patriotic democratic forces can still fight back and win, but the damage done already will take a generation to heal.
 
fresh_42 said:
Our intelligence services (federal and state-wise) are sworn in to protect the Constitution(s).
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So is ours, and even the entire workforce of the federal government, but we have no way to dependably enforce adherence to that oath, at least for major officeholders.

If we can survive this political plague, it will be interesting to see how we will address the problems that the Trump administration has revealed.
 
Not surprisingly Musk is facing some backlash after his support of German fascism. If there ever was a textbook example of a person with too much money and the wrong opinions (YMMV), I think he's it:

Elon Musk faces criticism for encouraging Germans to move beyond 'past guilt'.

EDIT: The debate about whether the children were responsible for their grandparent's actions have already been had in Germany. He's kindling an old fire.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
You can thank JD Vance and the tech bros like Elon Musk for that. We have another 3 years to go. Who knows what is after that. Truly scary times for anyone paying attention.
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Did you all notice how Vance has disappeared from the news reports?
True "Maga doctrine" included not intervening in other countries... Remember that one?
 
gleem said:
The Constitution terminates the current presidency every four years; his authority ends without exception.
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Who's going to stop him? The courts can only slap him. He owns congress. He also owns the military and tens of thousands of masked police. Also he's talking about midterms in this instance.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
Who's going to stop him? The courts can only slap him. He owns congress. He also owns the military and tens of thousands of masked police. Also he's talking about midterms in this instance.
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The next step in Germany was the Ermächtigungsgesetz (Enabling Act of 1933).

A more modern approach is by media control (Berlusconi, Erdogan, Putin, Orban), before they reconfigured the entire jurisdiction.
 
If I remember my history, the Enabling Act was required to devolve the legislative authority to Hitler's Cabinet.

It seems to me that even without a legal basis, the US Congress has already ceded a lot of their power to the executive. When you look at the actions taken, some through the hundreds of executive orders, and some without any kind of shadow of a legal basis, the White House is seemingly setting nearly all of what should be legislative priorities. If Congress functions as a ratifying body for executive priorities, and judicial review is slow, limited in scope, and subject to non-compliance, then there is no need for an Enabling Act equivalent.

Why bother passing a law when you aren't following the law already?
 
Well, I can tell you that the inhabitants of Greenland feel like people are talking above their heads. People of all ages are feeling pretty stressed, outraged and insecure. Trump publicly stating that he has no idea of who the "leader" of Greenland is doesn't impress anyone up there either.

But I guess that's just Trump being his usual self: Publicly, loudly, and blatantly making sure people he might soon have to talk to (read: bully around) are painfully aware that he considers them nobodies who aren't worth his time.

Again, it's like he says what's sounds good to him in the moment without putting any real commitment into it.

www.realitytea.com

Trump Doesn't Know Who Runs Country He Wants to Take Over

President Donald Trump was unaware of who the prime minister was of a country that he wants the US to take over.
www.realitytea.com www.realitytea.com

EDIT: And sorry about the source here. I don't know their editorial direction in detail but at least this article seemed fair enough to me.
 
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EricDMMiller said:
Why bother passing a law when you aren't following the law already?
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That is a real danger. I learned at school that there are three, ideally, independent of each other, constitutional powers, the media often referred to as the fourth. Let's have a look:

  1. The executive power:

    More or less in pseudo-private hands, like the SA. MAGA criminals, barely disguised as "ICE agents", and certainly untrained, are raging across the country uncontrolled and bloody. As of today, ICE shot a peaceful protester who had an emergency surgery and will be blind if he makes it. The FBI also follows the current trends. FED under pressure.

  2. The jurisdicative power:

    Widely ignored, SCOTUS in Republican hands, ICE arresting people out of courtrooms. I could again quote Hitler on this, but you are right, Trump's solution to simply ignore verdicts, pardon his criminal followers, and prevent prosecutions is far more effective than Hitler's Gleichschaltungsgesetz (synchronization act, which abolished the state level!) and demand of obedience from judges.

  3. The legislative power:

    Absent. And attempts are underway to abolish elections. Manipulations turned out to be too complicated.

  4. The media:

    Half of the country (conservative estimate) is already hooked to the state propaganda channel, FOX. The other half are denounced (e.g., fake news) or subjected to raids (WP). It is what the other ones I named tried first. In the US, they are literally the last hope, in my opinion.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
Who's going to stop him? The courts can only slap him. He owns congress. He also owns the military and tens of thousands of masked police. Also he's talking about midterms in this instance.
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I'm not sure he owns the military, at least not all of it. After all, they took an oath to defend the Constitution. We'll only know when he actually makes his move. Right now, He is working on the fringes of legality, and the military can give him the benefit of a doubt. There should be sufficient sanity in the military leadership to which the rank and file can look, if and when he goes rogue. And what about the National Guard?

It is hard for me to imagine that the GOP wants to flush this country down the toilet.
 
BillTre said:
His owning of congress will only last until the mid-terms.
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Senate mid terms are still very much in question. Winning the house will help with investigations, but if the public doesn't care, actions die in the senate. Trump continues his madness.
 
gleem said:
I'm not sure he owns the military, at least not all of it. After all, they took an oath to defend the Constitution.
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Trump and Hegseth have 3 years to cycle in loyalists and weak souls. They are already bombing boats, kidnapping heads of state and threating Greenland.
 
gleem said:
The Constitution terminates the current presidency every four years; his authority ends without exception.
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Well... he "only" needs a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress for proposal, followed by ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states... Et voilá!
 
I'm a little surprised that he hasn't been assassinated in a country overflowing with ghost guns. I mean a more charismatic president like Kennedy was offed pretty unceremoniously. It's like Trump uses the opposite of Putin's tactic. Putin keeps everyone at a distance while Trump surrounds himself with sycophants. I'm sure he's perfectly hale no matter his age too.
 

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