To follow on from my previous post (What’s Different Now About Views of ICE?), here are some additional examples of how very specific ideological symbols, terms, and messages are coming from the Trump administration. We are seeing the normalization of white supremacist notions, dare I say, right in front of our noses.
Let’s start with the Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE. Note this tweet from a few days ago.
The term “remigration” is a term taken from the European nativist far-right and refers to foreign populations leaving (i.e., re-migrating) the place to which they have come.
In regard to the term “remigration,” I would point the reader to this piece from February at InfoMigration: ‘Remigration’: How a word threatens to change migration views in Germany.
Most recently, remigration gained traction in far-right rhetoric through Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel who called for “large-scale repatriations” and claimed remigration as a centerpiece of the party’s campaign platform. Remigration was effectively repurposed to push an exclusionary agenda.
Philipp Adorf, an academic scholar at the Institute for Political Science and Sociology at the University of Bonn, traced AfD’s remigration agenda in 2021, and explained that “the term has been in use within nationalist circles for some time.” Similar proposals have surfaced in Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) political manifesto, reinforcing the idea that remigration is part of a broader European far-right strategy.
The President is joining in on Truth Social with similar language.
Indeed, Trump’s Truth Social feed (I read through it, so you don’t have to!) is full of a remarkable amount of nonsense, much of which in the last several days has been blatantly xenophobic, mostly aimed at Somali immigrations in Minnesota. I will leave that for another post.
Let me also include a tweet from the Department of Labor.
The focus on “Western civilization” is another buzzword utilized in the political language of white supremacy. I assure the reader that they are not simply extolling the reading of the Western canon. And clearly, “Americanism” is not the celebration of single wrapped cheese slices.
Some online have noted this quote from Halford_E._Luccock in 1938:
When and if fascism comes to America it will not be labeled ‘made in Germany’; it will not be marked with a swastika; it will not even be called fascism; it will be called, of course, ‘Americanism’.
And just to make sure you get the message, the font definitely gives off Germanic vibes.
It has also been noted that there are 11 stars around Honest Abe’s head, which is the number of CSA states. There is the plausible deniability that 2 are behind his head (to make 13 for the original 13 states), I suppose.
So, again, what has changed with ICE and immigration enforcement in general? The presence of clear language and symbolism from those in charge explicitly indicates that they are driven by white supremacism and xenophobia.
This is a chilling and important shift. I think it behooves the opponents of this ideological approach to be clear-eyed about what is going on and not dismiss these signals, which are well beyond dog whistles at this point. Likewise, Republicans who voted for this administration because they saw no alternative given the binary choice that they had back in November need to come to terms with what they may still be supporting.
See also Paul Waldman and Joseph Dye at Public Notice: This is what a white supremacist administration looks like.
