"As the seat of national government, Washington, DC, tends to experience whatever the United States as a whole is experiencing, but in sharper relief. Its health tells us a lot about the nation's health-and right now, both are in crisis. For months, Washington has been forced to host unprecedented deployments of National Guard troops and ICE agents, with the former largely functioning to simulate the experience of military occupation"
"Washington isn't the only city that's under siege. The first major National Guard deployments, in June, were in Los Angeles, the hometown of Donald Trump's homeland-security adviser Stephen Miller, for the specific purpose of confronting those who were protesting against ICE's immigration raids. But the most common strategy, in which a phantasm of crime is used to justify a full-scale urban occupation, was first employed in the nation's capital in August before spreading to Memphis and Portland, Oregon, in September and to Chicago in October."
Washington, DC, experiences national trends in sharper relief and currently faces a crisis in both civic health and governance. For months the city has hosted unprecedented National Guard and ICE deployments, with the Guard simulating military occupation and ICE conducting raids on homes and worksites, undermining civil liberties of immigrants and citizens. The deployment strategy began in Los Angeles in June targeting protestors and used in Washington in August to justify full-scale urban occupation, later spreading to Memphis, Portland, and Chicago. Washington's status as the federal seat, its racialized perception, and limited self-governance make it a logical template for further federal incursions.
Read at The Nation
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