In the spirit of broadening the analysis beyond ICE, Border Chronicle cofounders Melissa del Bosque and Todd Miller discuss the leading role the U.S. Border Patrol has played in violent operations across the country.
We analyze how these shocking immigration sweeps—such as the one in Minneapolis that killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti—extend the U.S. border into the interior. To understand these operations, it is essential to examine the extraconstitutional powers that the Border Patrol has long exercised in the borderlands, where the agency has enjoyed impunity for its abuses. The people of the borderlands and border crossers have faced this ironfisted authoritarianism for decades.
Today, the United States appears to be entering a new phase of expanded border policing—similar to the Operation Gatekeeper deterrence of the 1990s or the sweeping powers and massive budgets that followed 9/11. Now the border can be anywhere, and the guns pointed at anyone—all with the enthusiastic support of the defense contractors who stand to profit.
But the good news is, people have had enough.
Also, you can purchase Todd's book Border Patrol Nation, which we talk about in this podcast at the Border Chronicle bookshop.
Cofounder, Editor-in-chief. Based in Tucson, Arizona. Author of Border Patrol Nation, Storming the Wall, Empire of Borders, and Build Bridges Not Walls.
For decades, the Border Patrol has operated with extraconstitutional powers along the U.S.-Mexico divide. Now it’s leading the charge in U.S. cities across the country.
For years, Flores has served as an immigration policy advisor to Democrats at the national level, including President Biden. She talks about what went wrong, and what Democrats should be doing now.
