Paul CantrellFeb 5

See, this — •this• — is what ICE+CBP are actually for under this regime. •This• is why they got a budget the size of Russia’s entire military.

It’s nothing to do with immigration. It’s about the would-be dictator having his own private military that:

- can be deployed domestically
- at will
- unbeholden to the UCMJ etc
- or disciplined military culture
- or any accountability whatsoever
- with unpredictably violent behavior
- applied indiscriminately
- to anyone
- so that the entire population is terrified of it

…because for them, the problem with Jan 6 was that the coup wasn’t violent enough and didn’t have enough weapons.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/04/steve-bannon-ice-immigration-agents-polling-sites-midterm-elections

Steve Bannon calls for immigration agents at polling sites during midterms

Ex-Trump adviser adds to elections officials’ concern about potential interference from Trump administration in voting

The Guardian
Show threadPaul CantrellFeb 5
This budget battle over DHS that’s happening in the Senate now — it’s not about accountability or guard rails. It’s about whether a force like this should exist at all in the USA.
Show threadSamuel Smith
@inthehands the Department of Homeland Security must not - cannot! - exist in a free country. We either rid the USA of the DHS, ICE, and the institutions that spawned them, or we lose what's left of freedom in our own country.
Feb 5 at 4:38amWeb