NDLON Reaction to performative authoritarianism in Portland: Y nosotros que?

Los Angeles, CA – In response to a new phase of Donald Trump’s war on cities, NDLON Co-Executive Director Pablo Alvarado made the following statement:

“Denunciation without action merely normalizes Trump’s cynical and authoritarian move to provoke violence and assert new powers that he never should have had in the first place. No one should be surprised; the question is what we will do about it.

“When the government excluded millions from Covid19 relief, day laborers asked, Y nosotros qué – What about us? It was a question for officials, but it was also a question for everyone outraged by what they saw – what will we do about it? Today, as we witness literal fascism in Portland, we must ask the same, Y nosotros que? What will we do about it?

For starters –

1) Congress must defund DHS. They will have the opportunity to do so next week in the House, and we will be joining all who are calling for total defunding of CBP and ICE.

2) Joe Biden must make clear that he will end 287g, and dismantle ALL ICE infrastructure extending the unwanted incursions of DHS into local law enforcement. Among the greatest betrayals of the Obama administration was his criminalizing policy which rammed ICE into our cities and towns. Beyond denunciations, Biden must commit to making this right. On day one.

3) For the rest of us, we can show our support for the people in Portland by doing our part to kick ICE and CBP out of our own cities and towns too. Business as usual, while they occupy our cities, is not an option.

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