This
was
pretty
much
inevitable.
While
the
Trump’s
band
of
bigots
struggled
mightily
to
expel
brown
people
from
this
country,
the
rest
of
his
sycophants
are
doing
everything
they
can
to
prevent
non-white
foreigners
from entering the
country.
It’s
counterproductive,
especially
when
the
end
goal
is
at
least
3,000
ICE
arrests per
day.
If
you
don’t
let
enough
migrants
in,
you’re
going
to
run
out
of
migrants
to
arrest
and
deport.
It’s
simple
math,
people.
But
it’s
also
a
simple
president,
to
use
the
pejorative
form
of
the
word.
Marco
Rubio’s
State
Department
is doing
what
it
can to
filter
out
people
who
might
be
opposed
to
Trump
and/or
his
policies.
Applicants
for
visas
now
must
subject
themselves
to
vetting
that
includes
deep
dives
into
their
social
media
accounts
to
sniff
out
anything slightly
smelling
of
anti-Trump
animus.
According
to
Rubio
himself,
being
anti-Trump
is
the
same
thing
as
being
anti-America,
even
though
it’s
clear
Trump
has
zero
respect
for
everything
that
actually
makes
America
great.
Apparently,
this
isn’t
working
quite
as
well
as
Trump
or
Rubio
had
hoped.
People
who
don’t
like
Trump
must
still
be
finding
a
way
to
enter
this
country.
Not
to
worry!
DHS
has
just
issued
guidance
that
says
it
can
now
(or
rather, continue)
to
throw
people
out
because
they’re
not
TEAM
USA
enough.
In
a
move
that’s
completely
on-brand
for
the
Trump
administration,
McCarthyism
is
now
back
in
play
when
it
comes
to
allowing
migrants
to
continue
accessing
rights
and
benefits
that
were
previously
considered
to
be
guaranteed.
(h/t Aaron
Reichlin-Melnick
on
Bluesky)
This
isn’t
hyperbole.
It’s
excruciatingly literal.
The
new
DHS
policy memo [PDF] specifically cites
laws
created
to
assist
Joe
McCarthy’s
desire
to
eject
Communists
from
the
country.
For
certain
immigration
benefit
requests,
such
as
adjustment
of
status,
the
alien
bears
the
burden
of
proof
to
demonstrate
that
a
favorable
exercise
of
discretion
is
warranted.1
[…]
USCIS
guidance
provides
that
an
alien’s
compliance
with
immigration
laws
is
a
relevant
factor
when
determining
if
a
favorable
exercise
of
discretion
is
warranted.
USCIS
is
updating
the
Policy
Manual
to
provide
additional
guidance
for
officers
on
the
significant
negative
discretionary
weight
USCIS
assigns
in
circumstances
where
an
alien
has
endorsed,
promoted,
supported,
or
otherwise
espoused
the
views
of
a
terrorist
organization
or
group,
including
those
who
support
or
promote
anti-American
ideologies
or
activities,
antisemitic
terrorism,
antisemitic
terrorist
organizations,
and
antisemitic
ideologies,
in
any
case
involving
an
exercise
of
discretion.2
There
are
two
footnotes
attached
to
these
statements.
Here’s
what
the first
one
links
to,
the
establishment
of
a
burden
of
proof
that
is
placed
on
the
“alien”
seeking
to
stay
in
the
country
—
a
statute
that
was
created during
McCarthy’s
height
of
power.
The
second
footnote links
to
a
law created
directly
in
response
to
McCarthy’s
witch
hunt
—
the
title
of
which
suggests
fans
of Trump might
be too un-American
to
be
allowed
to
seek
residence
in
the
United
States:
Prohibition
upon
the
naturalization
of
persons
opposed
to
government
or
law,
or
who
favor
totalitarian
forms
of
government
I
mean…
it
speaks
for
itself.
If
there’s
been
an
administration
more
tolerant
of
totalitarianism
or
less
supportive
of
the
rule
of
law,
we
certainly
haven’t
seen
it
since
the
final
days
of
the
Nixon
administration.
And
at
least
Nixon
had
the
courage
to
resign
during
his
impeachment,
rather
than
force
himself
on
the
nation
repeatedly
the
way
ol’
grab-em-by-the-pussy
has.
The
end
result
of
the
exhuming
of
McCarthyism
is
this,
at
least
in
terms
of
what DHS/US
Citizenship
and
Immigration
Services will
do:
In
cases
where
the
alien
has
engaged
in
such
activities,
USCIS
will
enforce
all
relevant
immigration
laws
to
the
maximum
degree,
including
the
use
of
discretion,
to
deny
the
benefit
request.
This
certainly
doesn’t
sound
like
maximum
degree
“discretion,”
unless
your
definition
of
maximized
discretion
is always finding
a
reason
to
block
a
non-white
migrant
from
continuing
to
reside
in
the
United
States.
That
is
one
way
to
use
“discretion,”
albeit
one
that
most
people
wouldn’t
consider
to
be
the
defining
feature
of
discretionary
power.
There
is
no
further
clarification
as
to
what
DHS/USCIS
consider
to
be
un-American
enough
to
reject
applications
for
permanent
residence
in
the
United
States.
It’s
all
“discretion”
from
here
on
out,
which
means
the
DHS
can
use
this
power
to
oust
anyone
it
wants
to,
regardless
of
any
other
reasons
migrants
have
cited
as
justifying
their
continued
residence
in
the
US.
It’s
evil,
stupid,
and
cruel.
And
that
means
it’s
just
another
part
of
the
complete
Trump
Administration
set.
It’s
bigotry
backed
by
laws
created
to
appease
a
bigot
who
managed
to
go
mainstream
seven
decades
ago.
Everything
old
is
new
again…
well,
except
for
all
the
old
stuff
like
Lady
Liberty
serving
as
a
beacon
of
hope
and
America
behaving
like
it
might
actually
deserve
the
title
of
“Leader
of
the
Free
World”
now
and
then.
Trump
Admin
Goes
Full
McCarthy,
Will
Decide
Whether
Migrants
Are
Pro-USA
Enough
To
Stay
Here
More
Law-Related
Stories
From
Techdirt:
DOGE
Falsely
Targeted
Him
On
Social
Media.
Then
The
Taliban
Took
His
Family
From
Book
Bans
To
Internet
Bans:
Wyoming
Lets
Parents
Control
The
Whole
State’s
Access
To
The
Internet
Here
We
Go
Again:
German
Courts
Reopen
The
“Is
Ad
Blocking
Copyright
Infringement?”
Nonsense
We
Thought
We’d
Put
To
Bed