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The original was posted on /r/keep_track by /u/rusticgorilla on 2025-05-01 11:20:09+00:00.

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Immigration authorities (at one time made up primarily of ICE agents, but now accompanied by a myriad of federal officers) are quickly morphing into the Trump administration’s secret police force, operating covertly outside of the bounds of law, bypassing due process, and surveilling the population while cultivating fear and suppressing dissent.

In the last few weeks, we have seen masked men raid courthouses, agents harass a lawyer who helped an undocumented family, ICE storm the wrong house and seize the family’s savings, officers tase a man for a civil infraction, and DHS abduct green card holders at their citizenship interviews. Meanwhile, the administration is arresting judges, trampling constitutional rights, and “deporting” U.S. children without parental consent. These are the machinations of a secret police force operating to impose a fascist agenda on the American people.

Arrest of judges

The Trump administration dramatically escalated its attacks on the courts last month when the FBI arrested Wisconsin County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest in her courtroom.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin federal court, ICE was in the Milwaukee County Courthouse on April 18 to effectuate an arrest warrant for Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 30-year-old Mexican undocumented immigrant facing misdemeanor battery charges in Dugan’s courtroom. Agents were accompanied by personnel from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), likely reassigned from their usual duties to immigration enforcement.

Upon learning of the agents’ presence in the courthouse, a “visibly upset” (to use the government’s phrasing) Judge Dugan left her courtroom and confronted the arrest team in the hallway.

Judge Dugan addressed Deportation Officer A and asked if Deportation Officer A was present for a court appearance. When Deportation Officer A responded, “no,” Judge Dugan stated that Deportation Officer A would need to leave the courthouse. Deportation Officer A stated that Deportation Officer A was there to effectuate an arrest. Judge Dugan asked if Deportation Officer A had a judicial warrant, and Deportation Officer A responded, “No, I have an administrative warrant.” Judge Dugan stated that Deportation Officer A needed a judicial warrant. Deportation Officer A told Judge Dugan that Deportation Officer A was in a public space and had a valid immigration warrant…Judge Dugan then demanded that Deportation Officer A speak with the Chief Judge.

The chief judge advised the agents that the hallways were public spaces and that they were allowed to be there. Meanwhile, according to the courtroom deputy, Judge Dugan returned to her courtroom and directed Flores-Ruiz to leave through the “jury door,” which leads to a non-public area of the courthouse. This action is the basis of the government’s claim that Dugan obstructed a proceeding and concealed an individual to prevent an arrest. However, the exit of the non-public area leads directly back to the public hallway, which is where agents encountered Flores-Ruiz and his attorney. An officer identified as DEA Agent A even rode the elevator down to the ground floor of the courthouse with Flores-Ruiz and followed him out of the building, where he was detained.

The FBI arrested Dugan on April 25, making a public spectacle of escorting her out of the courthouse in handcuffs and posting a ‘perp walk’ photo online. They did not give her an opportunity to turn herself in, as is customary with a non-violent offender who is not a flight risk. The government also did not obtain a grand jury indictment, meaning that they will still have to prove their case in front of a grand jury before the charges are formally approved.

All of this is a departure from standard operating procedure. The Trump administration was more interested in intimidating the judiciary, silencing dissent, and cultivating fear than in adhering to established guidelines. That’s also why Attorney General Pam Bondi made a point of giving interviews about Dugan’s arrest in front of the White House lawn decorated with mugshots of arrested migrants, a new level of dehumanization and fascist propaganda from a regime that appears to have no bottom to the depths of their cruelty.

“This is a criminal judge sitting on a criminal bench,” Bondi said about Dugan in front of the disturbing lineup, adding that “the victims of crime should be very happy today.” She is, of course, intentionally ignoring that courthouse ICE arrests dissuade immigrants—whether offenders, witnesses, or victims—from showing up to court in the first place, further undermining the rule of law and preventing victims from obtaining justice.

Department of Defense

Three weeks ago, Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum ordering DHS and the Department of the Interior to transfer federal land along the U.S. southern border to the Department of Defense. The strip of land, now known as the National Defense Area, extends from the southeastern border region of New Mexico (just outside El Paso, Texas) along the national border through Arizona and California. UUsing a national security “emergency” to hand the area off to the Defense Department, transforming it into a military installation, permits the armed forces to operate as domestic law enforcement, bypassing Posse Comitatus Act restrictions.

The first parcel of land in New Mexico, east of Fort Huachuca, is now under military control. According to the Washington Post, immigrants caught in the area were detained by troops on April 18, charged with “illegal entry without inspection” and a new, second charge: “penalty for violation of security regulations” for unlawful entry into a military installation, which carries penalties including increased jail time and $100,000 in fines.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense is assisting the administration in circumventing court orders that require due process for immigrants. Massachusetts District Judge Brian Murphy (a Biden appointee) issued a temporary restraining order on March 28 prohibiting DHS from removing immigrants to a third country without (a) written notice of the third country to where they may be removed and (b) “a meaningful opportunity” to submit an application for protection, including withholding of removal. The order means that DHS cannot summarily deport an individual to a country other than the country designated for removal (usually their home country) by an immigration judge. (Note that this applies to the Immigration and Nationality Act, not the Alien Enemies Act)

This case presents a simple question: before the United States forcibly sends someone to a country other than their country of origin, must that person be told where they are going and be given a chance to tell the United States that they might be killed if sent there? Defendants argue that the United States may send a deportable alien to a country not of their origin, not where an immigration judge has ordered, where they may be immediately tortured and killed, without pr…

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